Pull the plug
These guys are on acid. "One Waterfront Place is planned to be a 12-story, $100 million commercial office building north of the Broadway Bridge." Let's see: We've got one new downtown office tower almost finished and coming on line in the middle of a depression; another already started and in mothballs with a giant hole in the ground; and we're going to need another one?
Delusional projects like this are keeping lots of minions looking busy at the Portland Development Commission. What a waste of tax dollars. The sooner Portland puts "urban renewal" out of its misery, the sooner it will start to recover. Get city government out of the real estate development business!
| Posted at 8:47 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (7)
The PDC is ALWAYS delusional!
Unless the laws are changed to put them out of business they will continue to rape and pillage the taxpayers who fund their increasingly crazy schemes.
Posted by portland native | January 19, 2010 9:38 AM
"Get city government out of the real estate development business!"
AAAAA-men
Posted by Snards | January 19, 2010 10:49 AM
Dreams die hard.
Posted by Steve | January 19, 2010 11:24 AM
Yeah, if you wacko Portland voters ever pony up and vote these clowns out of city hall!
Let's rename the PDC and call it Delusional Development, Inc.
Posted by RANZ | January 19, 2010 2:26 PM
Does anybody know within a reasonable range how much the taxpayers would save if the PDC were disbanded and their property holdings were sold on the open market? I have no idea, but my guess is that would go a heackuva long way toward funding schools and attracting businesses to Portland.
Just a thought. Voters, are you listening?
Posted by PD | January 19, 2010 3:07 PM
"Does anybody know within a reasonable range how much the taxpayers would save if the PDC were disbanded and their property holdings were sold on the open market?"
About $300 million to $500 million each year.
Posted by interested reader | January 21, 2010 1:00 AM
Nobody seems to look at whether a project is necessary. The only questions asked are:
- How many construction jobs it will provide
- Whether it is located on a transit line
- Whether it is "green" or LEED certified
- Whether it will be a "linchpin" or can be piggybacked onto another urban renewal project, no matter how tenuous the connection
Posted by NW Portlander | January 21, 2010 4:02 PM