Peary Court: Plan B
by Naja and Arnaud Girard…….
After 58% of voters rejected the purchase of Peary Court six weeks ago, some City Commissioners have a new plan: give the City’s affordable housing funds to a private company that wants to buy the entire former Navy housing complex on White Street for 60 million dollars.
The City would pay the buyer 12.5 million. In exchange, the buyer would deed restrict the 157 existing units and any other units constructed on the 24 plus acre property for use as “affordable housing.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Commission could adopt a Resolution nominating the new 12.5 million dollar Peary Court deal to the Land Authority. After approval by the County Commission on the 18th of May, the Land Authority would disperse the 12.5 million at the closing. Peary Court would remain deed restricted affordable workforce housing in perpetuity.
But, isn’t that a lot of money to be rushed through during one Tuesday night meeting?
“The seller literally has a gun to our heads,” says local realtor Claude Gardner, “We only have one month to give our answer.” Apparently another buyer is standing by, having also made a 60 million dollar offer for the property for a market rate project.
“We can not make it work at 60 million. If the City votes down the 12.5 million or if we need to renegotiate land regulations – we’re out,” says Gardner.
“We” is Claude Gardner and his client Jeff Cornfeld. Mr. Cornfeld owns a real estate investment and management company based in Hollywood, Florida. He also owns several properties in Key West including a stately home on Elizabeth Street.
This time there will be no referendum.
So, is the Commission pulling an “end run” on voters? “What part of no don’t they understand,“ asks citizen advocate Christine Russel, ”I thought it was pretty clear we did not want the City investing in Peary Court.”
“I think what this proposal does is solve a lot of the issues that came out of the referendum,” says Gardner. He co-owns Knight and Gardner Realty and is the sole architect of this new proposal. “If this goes forward the City could achieve its goal: Peary Court would be 100% dedicated to affordable housing,” says Gardner.
So far it seems he’s convinced almost everyone he’s spoken to. We spent two hours with him Wednesday morning, unrolling plans and discussing land use regulations.
Here are some of the pros and cons associated with spending 12.5 million in Land Authority funds to deed restrict Peary Court.
Pros
Obviously the City not “owning” Peary Court has certain advantages. The City’s proforma on a possible purchase had indicated a profit, but any fluctuation in costs could have pushed the project into the red: there was a question about the cost of maintenance, the risk of skyrocketing flood insurance or interest rates, uncertainty as to boundary lines separating the portion that would not be purchased by the City. The repayment of the 46 million dollar loan was contingent on rents remaining at today’s historically high levels for the next 30 years, regardless of any possible economic downturn. All of these issues are no longer taxpayer concerns, but the benefit of having Peary Court restricted to “affordable housing” is now a real possibility at a fraction of the cost.
One may regret that the City will not have full ownership under the new deal, however in private hands Peary Court will continue producing revenue in the form of property taxes (which help fund the school system and more). Property tax last year was $343,400. When the property sells, taxes will be adjusted up to reflect the higher sale price but also down as a result of the “affordable” deed restrictions.
It also avoids a pernicious conflict of interest: How could we expect the City to fight the housing crisis and diligently keep trying to lower rents when the City itself would have been dependent on high rents to keep paying its sizable mortgage?
Gardner says Cornfeld intends to build the 48 new units already permitted on the property and, if possible, many more if his request [to come after the property is purchased] for an increase in density is granted. The density is currently about half that of the adjacent neighborhood. Under the City’s workforce housing code rents for the existing 2-bedroom apartments could vary from a top rent called “middle-income affordable” ($2709/month) down to $1546/month for a “low-income affordable” unit. The total rent roll may not exceed an average rent of “moderate income plus 10%”.
Cons
Since market rate rents at Peary Court are currently $2450/month, tenants will continue to pay approximately the same amount [$2322/month called “moderate-income affordable”.] When you get into the math it becomes apparent that the low-med-moderate-middle income “mix” option included in City code will not produce any low-income units — unless the owner plans on earning less than he’s allowed to under the guidelines.
According to the City’s own data the City has a deficit of 796 low-income rental housing units and a surplus of 270 moderate-income rental units.
Low-income salaries in Key West equate to $48,100 for a single person or $73,333 for a couple. For example, 47% of school district employees would qualify for the low-income category [if living alone]. 177 City of Key West government employees are earning less than 40,000/year, as do most service workers..
Commissioner Sam Kaufman, whose primary reason for running for office was to help tackle the affordable housing crisis, says he is “extremely disappointed’ with the new Peary Court proposal.
His concerns:
- It creates zero new units.
- It depletes the Land Authority affordable housing fund.
- It creates an unknown obstacle to building lower-income housing on government controlled property [Poinciana].
- It contravenes the voters’ intent where 58% of voters said no to Peary Court.
- It preserves units at the moderate level, which equates to market rate rents.
Kaufman points out that there is plenty of room over at Poinciana Plaza to build desperately needed low and median-income housing. [A “low-income affordable” efficiency apartment [400 SF] would rent for $1203/month] “And right now we have $12.5 million to do it,” he says.
Claude Gardner doesn’t disagree.
“Look, I know we need low-income affordable housing, but we also need moderate-income housing for couples, for people with children and right now we have a one-time, last chance, opportunity to keep Peary Court from becoming high end rentals or second homes. The money in the housing account will replenish. It receives over $2 Million a year. But there will never be another opportunity to save 24 acres in Key West, there will never be another Peary Court.”
So, these will be the Commissioners’ choices:
Build 12.5 million dollars worth of low-income housing and use the rent revenue to build more over the years.
or
Buy a perpetual deed restriction on all of Peary Court, a one time opportunity to keep 157 apartments from being rented for even more than the “affordable“ $2400 /month [or worse – from being turned into high-end very “unaffordable” second homes].
There was no real estate commission in the $55 million the city would have paid the current Peary Court owners (if the referendum had passed and the city then could have found financing, which was a big IF.) So this ex-real estate lawyer wonders, during your 2-hour telephone conversation with Ed Gardner, did he happen to tell you what his firm’s real estate commission will be if this deal goes through? 5% commission is $3 million. 10% commission is $6 million. Was the price of this new deal inflated to cover the real estate commission? If so, will the real estate commission be reduced by its percentage times $12.5 million of Land Authority funds? Or was Mr. Gardner so concerned about saving Peary Court for market rate rental housing that he kindly waived his firm’s real estate commission?
It’s common practice for a real estate firm to say, “There’s another buyer.” But would another buyer in the bush fare any better before the city’s Historical Architectural Review Committee, Planning Board and City Commission than the current owners fared? Utter, abject defeat was how the current owners fared. Will there ever be a prospective new buyer of Peary Court, if the City Commission announces it will put the city’s new homeless shelter on the old City Transit Department land across Palm Avenue from Peary Court?
Yes, obviously this is an end run of the recently defeated Peary Court referendum. But, it’s a legal end-run. But, is it an honest end run? Consider TWO GLARING ELEPHANTS IN THE LIVING ROOM spotlighted in your article:
1) “Since market rate rents at Peary Court are currently $2450/month, tenants will continue to pay approximately the same amount [$2322/month called “moderate-income affordable”.]
In plain English, Peary Court is MARKET RATE rental housing. It is NOT AFFORDABLE rental housing.
2) “According to the City’s own data the City has a deficit of 796 low-income rental housing units and a surplus of 270 moderate-income rental units.”
In plain English, the city has more moderate-income (MARKET RATE) rental housing units than it needs. So why should the city give the buyer $12.5 million to save Peary Court from yet a 3rd buyer, who will have to go through the same rigmarole the current owners of Peary Court had to go through, which led to them trying to get the city to buy Peary Court as “affordable” housing?
A THIRD GLARING ELEPHANT IN THIS LIVING ROOM is the 48 “affordable” building rights the purchaser will acquire in this deal, which actually are MARKET RATE building rights the city GAVE to the current owners, who valued those FREE 48 MARKET RATE building rights at $12 million when they tried to sell ALL of Peary Court to the city for $67 million. So if the City Commission approves this deal, Ed Garner’s client will get that $12 million windfall, as well as the city’s $12.5 million in its Land Authority account.
I think your article should give your readers a direct link to Christine Russell’s excellent letter to the blue paper editor on Peary Court Deux. Here is a link: https://thebluepaper.com/peary-court-people-said-no/
This part of Christine’s letter stands out:
“1. We can preserve existing housing we are told (fear has been cast that Peary Ct could become second homes and we lose this existing housing – but how likely is this? Several actual apartment complexes have sold recently (Ocean Walk and West Isle Club which those 192 units sold for just $40 million in 2014 – did the CIty show any interest in buying those apartments?). NONE of those apartment complexes have become second homes or condos. Have you seen the glut of houses for sale these days! Take the old Simonton St trailer park that did away with actual affordable housing, and now there are $750,000 to $950,000 little modular ‘houses’ that have been sitting well over a year not selling. So how realistic is this fear mongering that we will lose what is actually UNaffordable housing at Peary Ct?”
Just a foot note – commissioners are moving starting time to 10 am from 6pm on Tuesdays (starting in Oct?? Item #33) at Meeting…You can not see a commissioner before 10 am and I bet working Commissioner are not going to work for the need of the City- Yea Right…The public is working and no parking…Get you KY for here it comes – special interest first and us second.
Why did commissioners run for the public office, and now try to block us out….
Question??? will the rules change that at midnight they have to stop or just at lunch??? Yea – Beer Thirty…Does the rest of the city Big Boys get anything done during the time of the meeting – Salaries City employees don’t have to work at Night? So now they don’t have to work during the day either and all the police and firemen still show up? Key West get a grip – we need some new blood to at least run for district chairs.
Wait until you see the City just gave away $250,000 for bad sidewalks which people have been complaining about for years…$74K city $175 home owner but still the city’s fault…could have fixed sidewalk for less than a 1k
THE NEVER ENDING STORY
Who may say what is affordable “in perpetuity”. This is more bubba bad deal.
TRUST! Do you TRUST this local government to make good decisions with government funds and represent what is in your best interest? Trust is the biggest problems we citizens in KW have with our local government. This government attempted to convince us all that a purchase of Peary Ct for $55MILLION WITHOUT MOST OF THE LAND in the original parcel, would pay its way and the rents would cover the expenses and mortgage. BUT NOW we learn from a realtor and experienced commercial property owner ““We can not make it work at 60 million. If the City votes down the $12.5 million or if we need to renegotiate land regulations – we’re out,” says Gardner.
So which is it? I tend to believe those with experience in the industry. So again – can we trust this government to make wise decisions?
TRUST or LACK of, is what drove so many of us to spend weeks gathering signatures for what many referred to as the Wisteria Island petition which actually changed the city Charter so citizens/taxpayers of KW could vote when property was added to the city or sold by the city. It’s overwhelming passage went far beyond Wisteria Is – that is another story if you are not aware – and is the sole reason voters got to vote on the Peary Ct purchase – and they turned that down handily. Obviously citizens want a say in their government!
We voted. We don’t want the city involved in Peary Ct. There are 7 elected officials (4 of whom are up for re-election in August!) who should be listening and abiding to the will of their constituents. But it appears they think they know better than all of us. Will they vote NO on Tuesday and represent the will of the voters, OR will they arrogantly think they know what’s best for us all – preserving what is actually UNAFFORDABLE housing with $12.5 Million of government money!
And WHY THE RUSH on the part of the sellers? We KNOW THEY CAN NOT BE TRUSTED! Atwell and others were behind the failed Watermark development and other Keys failed developments that walked and left banks and taxpayers holding the bag! GREED and STUPIDITY!
Mr. Cornfeld walk away from this deal. Don’t let them back you into a corner. I predicted when the referendum failed and the voters said no to Peary Ct, the Brazilian component would be in RUSH to dump this property on some other sucker.
Peary Ct has a very long bad reputation is Key West. The city was nearly that sucker – Jeff don’t you be that sucker. These sellers are in such a hurry to get rid of this property, I will bet you will see the price will continue to fall – it already has when you look at what the City had negotiated with the sellers. Let them keep Peary Ct. Let the price come down and then your could offer actually more affordable rents.
So I ask everyone again – DO YOU TRUST YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO REPRESENT YOU AND TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS?
This time the city(Jimmy Weekly particularly) is riding a dead horse that died in March. We do not want the City using public money to further enter Real Estate business. We do not want to purchase Perry Court!!Spoken loudly! in March.
Stealing the money from the affordable housing fund to BUY non-affordable housing(how many of us worker bees can afford $2450 plus utilities per month?) is ludicrous and irresponsible. Just a monument to Jimmy Weekly.
If we take the 12.5 million and build small 1 and 2 bedroom units at Poinciana for about $25-30 thousand each we would get many many more units for our dollar and not have to pay commission on the deal. I will vote to un-elect any commissioner who votes yes on this, now or later.
The horse is not dead and the city is doing an end around the voters directive, totally disregarding the outcome of the March vote.! THIS IS A DONE DEAL! When I say “the city” I should more accurately specify Weekly, Payne, Lopez and Cates – they are the ones who are sponsoring this resolution for wasting $12.5MILLION of government funds for UNaffordable housing. They are also the ones who so far see no need to listen to their constituents that we did not like the last Peary Ct deal. This is a horse of a different color but we still should have a legal right to vote on this deal. This is item #31 on the upcoming City Commission agenda TUESDAY night: ” Nominating the property located at 541White Street, Commonly referred to as Peary Court, to the Monroe County Land Authority for funding for the purpose of ACQUIRING AN INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY IN THE FORM OF AFFORDABLE DEED RESTRICTIONS on all existing and future units on the property in perpetuity for the purpose of preserving and providing AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE Housing.
Sponsors: Commissioner Weekley, Commissioner Payne, Commissioner Lopez and Mayor Cates”
At least one attorney in town see this as the city “ACQUIRING AN INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY” by the cities own words..and this attorney thinks this too should have to go back to the voters.
AND – which is it “AFFORDABLE” OR “WORKFORCE” I have been told by one city attorney and one city commissioner they are TWO entirely different things! More smoke and mirrors!
It’s a dirty city with dirty politics when elected officials ignore the citizens voice. 3 of the resolution sponsors are UP FOR RE-ELECTION: WEEKLY, LOPEZ AND CATES
You might want the State Police at that meeting to arrest all of these crooked players after the meeting is over.
This likely is illegal. How can you use tax money to help a private company buy property ? I suspect some will get a nice GIFT for voting yes.
Took a look a couple days ago at the Simonton property. We will likely soon see it go bankrupt. They can’t sell that trash to any smart person. Notice the sign is sitting on the side of the building. How many buyers will get ripped off ?
The voters need to start voting. Just maybe enough money can make them vote yes and not care if reelected. Plenty of bribe money in a 55 mil deal.
Get smart and build on your own ground and create real affordable rents. Something $10 an hour workers can rent.
Has anyone else figured this scam out. The 12.5 million will be the buyers 20% down payment and closing costs. He will not need spend anything to buy this property. And if it fails the bank takes it back. Only an I D 10 T would fall for such a scam. And to top it off this still fixes nothing for the low wage workers. And the buyer will still need rents near 2400 to make a profit. The money will all be gone and nothing left to build on your own ground. How STUPID is this town ? Glad we decided not to buy in this city. It is headed for a huge crash.
UN-ELECT ? No one is running against Weekley or Lopez so the Ole Team stays in place and Mayor Cates doesn’t have a chance for change with all the commissioner (except Margret) are trying to be mini mayors. We voted in persons to support their District and we the voters have not heard of anything the commissioners are doing for the district except Margret…come-on good boys get off your butt – Terri shinned and now Margret is shining and you gentlemen do not even have a glow. I will be at Margret’s meeting this month…? when are you elected good boy’s having anything for your District???
Maybe Dean should run against Weekley – he lives in District 1 – We all know Dean can get things done. He is on two boards, why not three and have a “HAT TRICK??
Ha, ha, Page :-). I imagine Bob Dean, who really doesn’t live in Key West, would have to come up with more than a hat trick and a shady Canvassing Board to beat Jimmy Weekley out of his commission seat. I attend city commission meetings pretty regular. Mayor Cates, as you say, is only one of 7 votes, and he can not get anything he wants done without 3 more votes, or even more if a super majority is required. However, he is pushing for the city to tie Peary Court up somehow, and this deal is the next opportunity to do that. Weird, them saying this is an opportunity to deed-restrict Peary Court affordable housing in perpetuity, when the fact is, Peary Court actually is market rate housing – $2400, plus utilities. The 48 new building rights, although designated “affordable,” will be at market rate. Look for same if the density is increased by the city and even more units go in there. This new buyer stands to make a great deal of money off of Peary Court, which is why this new buyer wants to get it, plus the $12 million kick back out of the city’s share of the Land Authority funds. Looks like a kick back to me, anyway. God willing and the Creek don’t rise, there will be a 4th candidate in the mayor’s race this year.
Sloan – Kind-s wish you where the leader, Our district 2 leader is not doing what we thought – like working for the District; but just a mini Mayor. I have been dump off on the secretary and no reply or follow-up…I work my ass off for this lawyer and no help – also no help for the lady who wanted help for her 12 year old who want a play- ground – Go to Margret she is the only one Who Cares. Yes Sam I a talking about you…O yet when is your district meeting or any of the other MALE commissioners meetings. It is time – but no one is running…KISS your tax money good by…Foot note – City collect 15 million – Budget is 166 million – school board budget is 169 million…is something wrong with this ??? – Please someone run for Weekley and Lopez seat – we need some relief…..
I seriously think this deal is illegal use of the tax money. Best read up on what is legal uses.
Get rid of Cates is first step. I have never seen a more corrupt city.
You could have fixed the housing problem years ago by building some prefab 400 SQ FT units that couldbe rented at far under $2400.
What changes here ? The rent is $2400 now so the people get nothing. How can $10 an hour people afford $2400 ?
Someone will gain something out of this scam but it won’t be the workers.
Bumped into Tom Milone near the library this afternoon. he ran twice against Jimmy Weekley in the past. He said he is really not happy with giving this new buyer the city’s entire Land Authority account, to help the buyer buy moderate (market rate) rental housing and prevent the city from being able to use that Land Authority money to build low and median income (actually affordable) rental housing. I asked Tom if he was going to say that during citizen comments at this coming Tuesday night’s city commission meeting? He said he sure is. I said I wondered how many citizens upset about this deal will be at the commission meeting to tell the mayor and city commissioner how they feel? Tom said probably not all that many, like either not many people really care, or it’s a done deal so what’s the point in being there? I will be there, God willing and the Creek don’t rise.
I think commission wont vote for item 31 tuesday night. Who will bet?
Contra Puncto, I have read somewhere that in the old days they stoned prophets, regardless. I’ll be there Tuesday night to watch and listen, and if Plan B ain’t pulled from the agenda, I will speak to it.
City Commissioner Sam Kaufman has a comprehensive not happy about Plan B letter to the editor in the Key West Citizen today (Sunday) – http://www.keysnews.com – which you can pay $1 to read, with a credit card, if you are not already an online subscriber. Among other things, Sam says the city getting deed restrictions is acquisition of real estate, so a referendum would be required for Plan B. I wonder how City Attorney Shawn Smith will field that? It would take a lawsuit to decide it, if the City Commission votes to go with Plan B. Who would bring such a lawsuit? I risk being stoned by saying nobody.
Talked some with Naja Girard about this yesterday. Ever the threat of a takings lawsuit from the present owners, because the city so far has not approved their several attempts to develop Peary Court. However, it looked to me the current owners did not care for the quaint notion, foisted out of plain common sense and not terribly fond dealings with other developers, by the city’s Historical Architectural Review Board and by the city’s Planning Board, that there would be a public street running through any new Peary Court through White Street to Palm Avenue. That would put a serious, but perfectly reasonable, crimp in anyone’s dream of creating a de facto gated upscale Peary Court.
As would putting the city’s new homeless shelter across Palm Avenue on the old city transit bus property. I myself several times saw and heard Margaret Romero, during citizen comments at city commission meetings, before she was elected to the City Commission, tell the then mayor and city commissioners they should put the new homeless shelter on the city’s one acre or so of land next to the high end Steam Plant Condominiums on Trumbo Road. That was about when Tom Milone told me the old city transit property would be a good place for the new homeless shelter, which would save Peary Court from being turned into a high end development. I started mentioning that during citizen comments at commission meetings. One Human Family, and all, NIMBY overcome, piece of cake, right? Ha!
Contra Puncto –
Under normal circumstances I would agree with you that the commission would ‘punt’ on Tuesday night – it’s what they do best..putting things off (why agendas are so long and out of control they just keep kicking the hundreds of cans down the road). HOWEVER it looks like FOUR of them have been convinced that is a “great” deal AND a DEAD deal if not firmed up quickly! The seller is pressuring this deal to close quickly. We have heard before buyers are lining up for this great parcel and fabulous deal – yea right!
Investors of any kind know when rushed into a deal, something is very wrong. Run away!
What we do know is these sellers do not have a good reputation here and other places (Brazil) and can not be trusted. NO one including the city of KW or Jeff F. this new potential investor should allow these greedy, self-serving sellers to back them into a corner. Jeff smells dollars with the city giving him !2.5 MILLION. The City needs to WALK AWAY from this GIVE-AWAY!
As I said in my letter to The Blue Paper it is highly unlikely Peary Ct is going to be leveled and multi-million homes built any time soon – just look at both projects on Simonton St – the one sitting empty for the last year, and the project at the other end where Strunk’s used to be that can not even get out of the ground. And even IF by some miracle someone did buy PC and could get the financing to build multi-million houses to sit empty waiting for buyers——the city COULD have built several hundred TRULY AFFORDABLE studios and 1 bedrooms AND HAVE A LARGE REVENUE STREAM accruing.
This is so easy to understand it is shocking that 4 politicians elected to represent the best interest of citizens do not understand this OR …do they have some other agenda?
This WILL pass on Tuesday – the fix is in.
Might be the fix is in, but it also might be the 4 electeds pushing this ain’t operating on all their spark plugs, they pushed hard for Plan A, don’t forget, which was a disaster at conception. Or, it’s and/or. I hope this time Commissioner Kaufman sticks to his guns and votes no. If he does, then how will Billy Wardlow go? Has anyone talked with Margaret Romero about Plan B? There very well might be another buyer in the wings, but that buyer will have to go through the same development hoops the current owners found not to their liking. The current owners’ field general is Jim Hendrick. He runs with and advises Pritam Singh and the Bernsteins. Jim and Pritam are adroit at getting people to look at what they want people to look at, and not at what they don’t want those same people not to look at. I find myself wondering if it was Jim Hendrick who came up with the idea for the city to use Land Authority funds to make Peary Court purchase down payment, and that now has morphed into Plan B. If the city drains its Land Authority funds for Peary Court, how does the city then build low and median income housing at Poinciana, on College Road, on Truman Waterfront? Who then gets the city’s ROGOs (buildring rights)? People Jim Hendrick represents, who, and other developers, like Ed Swift, are flat opposed to Sam Kaufrman’s idea, approved in some measure during the last city commission meeting, to only use the city’s ROGOS for low and median income rental housing.
The people said NO and they still are going to push this deal. Something shady here.
Now let’s look at this as a property owner wanting to sell. Would you be waiting on one buyer if you have a buyer that is ready ? H— No. The buyer with cash in his hand would already own it. Let them buy it. Why do you think it is for sale if such a great deal to own ?
If the voters can’t see this for what it is then they are blind. Let the commissioners know the deal could be stalled with a court order. This needs the attention of the FED’s. There must me a bribe involved or they would not even have plan B.
I think before this is over someone is going to do some time.
So what non-corrupt legal entity can help the citizens seeing that Plan B goes back to the voters? Can/will the State Attorney’s office stand up and help the citizens? How about the County Attorney – it is the County who administers the bed tax dollars and KW’s $12.5 MILLION! Or maybe some private attorney reading this wants to stand up to a bully government and make a name for themselves – as in many years ago with the case against the Watermark development (coincidentally Atwell was involved in that sham as well as White St Partners in this deal and yes Hendrick was in that one too). Some attorney step up please and represent the best interest of the people – it’s obvious the local government is NOT going to!
This is really sad. We voted NO. Now our elected leaders do an end run and come up with “Plan B: lets just give away $12.5 million”. I suggest that we vote every one of them out of office when the vote in support of this….
Oh..BTW has anyone noticed item number 33 on this week’s agenda: change the time of the meetings to 10am… Now they want to schedule the meetings when the public is working and cannot come to express their views…. deplorable!
Someone needs to look into WHO is voting and WHO is not. They are giving away 12.5 million to basically get nothing more than a deed restriction that will not even help the very people that the money was to be used to help. And with the money gone they can’t begin to build them low cost units on property they own. And as corrupt as this city is can you trust who is counting them votes ?
Been saying for over a year that you need to vote them all out. Not so much as one can be trusted. Start with Cates and demand a resignation. You need to clean up the corruption before it is too late.
What I look to see is a new owner that will in less than a year be raising the rents. And he could as the new owner profit by getting a second mortgage. Put that in his pocket and stop paying the first mortgage. Collect and keep all the rents and by the time it is foreclosed he will be rich. It is a very old game. Out of the legal uses of this 12.5 million I did not read anyplace that they can just give it away.
And then they complain that Fantasy Fest cost them money. FF is one of the few times that they are at max for tourists spending money. All places to stay go for about double so that alone is double tax income. If you don’t soon fix the corruption it might be too late to save the city.
I’m sure that city attorney, Sean Smith, will find a way to tap dance around this, but the bottom line is that the city is purchasing defined rights and privileges (deed restrictions) in exchange for $12.5m in locally generated tax dollars. That is a real estate acquisition.
The following Florida Statute addresses the way most cities address this specific topic in detail:
420.615 Affordable housing land donation density bonus incentives.—
For the Key West City Commission to override the requirement for a electorate vote, Sean would need to argue that there is no value to the deed restrictions. As such, the city would not actually acquire anything, and it won’t need to go to the electorate for a decision, but if that were the case, then why would the city pay $12.5m for nothing? I’m curious how he will be able to argue out of that corner. The irony to all of this is that if this “Plan B” had come before the electorate first, then it would have probably passed in the March election.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=deed+restriction&URL=0400-0499/0420/Sections/0420.615.html
Hope the voters remember this at election time. They will just give your 12 million away and not fix a dam thing for the low income people. And any chance for low income homes being built are gone. You voted them in. See what happens when you vote corrupt people into office ? The people are getting screwed in this deal and nothing will stop them. Hope your happy with them. I would buy tar and feathers.