11-05-2018, 03:00 PM
(11-05-2018, 02:13 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: The region wanted the transit portion immediately, which doesn't give any real financial return to the developers. The region also required some amount of preservation of Rumpel Felt Co. These both cost a lot of money, and remove a lot of possibility for the financial viability of the site. My guess is that either the region suggested "and you can build to match the roofline of Breithaupt block" and got laughed out of the room, or were telling the developers to hold off a long time on developing the residential/office/commercial portions, at more great cost to the developer. The region likely overplayed their hand, thinking who wouldn't want to develop this prime parcel, but really it's one of the most hamstrung parcels in the region, and you're going to need to work with developers if you want anything good to come from it.
Yes, the transit portion in itself does not bring a (strong? any?) financial return. But neither does just buying the land. It's just an up-front cost that needs to be included as part of the calculations.
Your guess is that the region is being unreasonable. My inclination is not to blame the region. But neither one of us really knows any detail about these negotiations.