Lake O. streetcar: shell game in progress
Homer Williams and Dike Dame are tinkering with their plans for condo bunkers with a streetcar at the eastern end of Lake Oswego. Now they're making the streetcar line shorter, so that it will serve even fewer Oswegans, and they're talking about building fewer of their ghastly apartments. But still 120 units to a block, six stories high. And without the streetcar, of course, they say "it won't pencil out."
Good -- let's not have it "pencil out." Use your eraser, fellas.
It's ironic that they've got old Matt Brown working the deal. If we recall correctly, Brown worked for the City of Portland when the economically disastrous SoWhat District was being pushed on that city. Promptly after helping hand the Portland tax coffers over to Homer and Dike, Brown went to work for them. Any city who goes along for a ride with that type of operative will get what it deserves.
| Posted at 9:41 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (10)
Matt Brown drafted the liar's budgets for the aerial tram. [rimshot]
Posted by Garage Wine | July 7, 2011 10:37 AM
If you need a tourist's transportation bauble to make your development pencil out, then you aren't a good developer.
Posted by Snards | July 7, 2011 10:49 AM
It is probably all about the kick-backs from the trolley developer...Of course that would never happen!
I wonder if Homer still has bank accounts in the Caribbean from his "Jumby Bay" days???
Posted by portland native | July 7, 2011 11:10 AM
Why is it that we can't get genuinely "good people" in government positions anymore?
Good grief.
Posted by Christian | July 7, 2011 11:50 AM
Perhaps "good people" don't want to be in the mix of certain types - nausea for one.
Daunting job before us, but can we really continue on as is?
One by one, we need to examine each public figure and their actions, for the people or not. . and then gather up all our energy and have reasonable heads strategize as to how to replace those who are for vested interests instead.
Posted by clinamen | July 7, 2011 2:23 PM
I guarantee you the streetcar does not make it pencil out.
There is nothing about the streetcar or light rail that help pencil out any development.
There ALWAYS has to be TAX subsidies/incentives to make it work.
Even then over and over again from the Round to Hillsboro to SoWa to Gresham devlopment fails and market rate housing gets droped for parking garages, subisdized low income housing or generic office space. All with insufficient parking which then tends to attract the worst tennants.
The Foothills will need millions in tax funded infrastructure, direct subsidies for structured parking, Transit Oriented Development tax abatements and other incentives.
Of course this scam conveniently claims the streetcar needs the foothills and the foothills needs the streetcar.
And like with Clackamas County and Vancouver public voting is an obstruction to both.
Posted by Ben | July 7, 2011 4:22 PM
I don't see that many people begging to move to LO. If such a push develops, I'd guess some developer will take advantage and build condos to meet the demand.
This isn't Field of Dreams where you "build it and they will come." The real world works the other way around.
Too bad I'm not a "real estate expert" or "stakeholder" that the City Council will listen to. Common sense doesn't make campaign contributions.
Posted by Mike (the other one) | July 7, 2011 6:48 PM
This isn't Field of Dreams where you "build it and they will come." The real world works the other way around.
But there are just so many new TriMet riders who started riding MAX!
(Of course, give them a far, far better experience than bus riders, at the same or lower cost - after all that lunch time ride on MAX downtown is "free" - "free" parking as opposed to the $10-12 one has to cough up downtown, and "free" wireless internet on WES...and all those people will gladly drive themselves to a "free" parking lot to ride the train.)
Posted by Erik H. | July 7, 2011 7:24 PM
I have an idea put the streetcar up for a vote of the citizens of Portland and lake oswego and see if we really want it.I feel it would very strongly be voted down.
Posted by matthew vantress | July 8, 2011 1:40 AM
Mathew,
Of course the street car, MAX train etc, would be voted down by those who will actually pay for it! That is why an election on tis issue will NEVER be held.
Too many people are making way too much money on light rail and its step children, the trolleys to allow mere tax paying citizens to interfere with their plans to make even more money. And not just in Portland either!
Posted by portland native | July 8, 2011 6:39 AM