Wednesday, January 6, 2010

CityNorth----Funny or Sad? We Say, "It's Sad For Phoenix Citizens"

While we anxiously await the Supreme Court ruling on The Goldwater Institute lawsuit against Phx Mayor Phil Gordon, read what is going on---courtesy of Az Repulic reporter Laurie Roberts.
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Laurie Roberts' Columns & Blog
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I almost feel sorry for CityNorth. Almost.


I find myself feeling almost sorry for the developers of CityNorth. First, they find themselves in the cross hairs of the Goldwater Institute for cooking up a deal with Phil Gordon to siphon away $100 million in future sales tax revenues in exchange for building a shopping center in northeast Phoenix.

Then, they open the first phase of their development – a smattering of shops, restaurants and some high-dollar apartments – in the middle of the biggest economic downturn of most of our lives. Then Bloomies et al pulled out of an eventual second phase and last week, CityNorth's lender filed to foreclose, hoping to recoup a portion of its $290 million loan.

Meanwhile, the city continues to pay the law firm of Fennemore Craig up to $520 an hour to defend the city’s plan to hand over $100 million in future tax revenues, should CityNorth ever build its vaunted shopping mall. As of September, the city had paid more than $600,000 in legal fees to defend against the Goldwater lawsuit.

We're still waiting for the Arizona Supreme Court to decide whether to uphold the Court of Appeal’s decision that the deal was unconstitutional. In the meantime, I’m wondering if Phoenix residents can foreclose on the city to get their $600k back...

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