Sunday, November 27, 2011

Homeless Facility to Be Included in County Board Mega-Deal for Courthouse Plaza

Hello Yupette,

So, people think County Board decided to build a year-around homelessness treatment and prevention facility in a building the County wants to acquire at 2020 North 14th Street?

Wrong. The County Board wants to make a new homelessness prevention and treatment facility a minor part of a mega-deal for the massive redevelopment of older buildings around Courthouse Plaza and the parking lot between Courthouse Plaza and Courthouse Road (which the County owns). Another Shirlington. Another live theater. Hundreds more units of unaffordable housing. Big underground garages. Cost to the taxpayers? At least $150 million.

Big beneficiary in the short term will be a foreign REIT, Brookfield Asset Management, which will reportedly sell 2020 North 14th Street to the County for close to $30 million. Building is worth maybe $17 million. County Board will also tear down the County-owned Court Square West office building on North Uhle Street and move County employees to a renovated 2020 N. 14th Street. Most of that building's current small business tenants will be forced to relocate. But, unlike working class minorities who live along the Pike, the County Board will give tenants of the North 14th Street building a generous relocation allowance.

As for the homeless, it will be years before they see any benefits from the County Board's wheeling and dealing. And, as usual, Barbara Donnellan and other non-residents in the County Manager's office were and are the key players in the corporate welfare deal making.

2100

16 comments:

2200 said...

Want to know how totally corrupt they are? Elected officials, County employees, friends, family, and members of the the local media routinely trade publicly-traded stocks, like Brookfield's, way in advance of press releases about these mega-deals.

Anonymous said...

Remember the Shirlington Library?

Anonymous said...

So 500 homeless will be wandering the streets for how many more years?

Anonymous said...

Arlington is Egypt circa 2005. Zimmerman is Mubarak.

Anonymous said...

Planning is for an extravagant live theater on the Courthouse Plaza parking lot site and maybe 5,000 square feet in the office building at 2020 N. 14th Street dedicated to providing services to the homeless.

Anonymous said...

Yes, but that relocation allowance is still never going to cover the rising cost in all of Arlington. Not the best building anyway - so I am sure upgrading the building will be a huge part of the remodel.

Anonymous said...

So Brookfield gets paid $30 million for a $17 million building which the County then spends $15 million to remodel. Total cost - $45 million. All tax dollars, of course.

Anonymous said...

Stupid Sheeple keep voting for incumbents.

Anonymous said...

What we deserve for re-electing incumbents.

Clement Voter - Not a Sheeple said...

What will the live theater to be constructed on the parking lot where the farmers market operates cost? Another $50 million?

Anonymous said...

More scarce tax dollars for the County Board's mega-projects. How much gets appropriated for this project in FY 2013?

fed up Dem said...

The Securities and Exchange Commission should take a close look at who is trading on non-public advance information about the County Board's mega deals.

Anonymous said...

Oh, another live theater. Just what my family needs. My kid attends class in trailers.

Anonymous said...

How much does S & P get paid to give the County an AAA bond rating?

Anonymous said...

What can you expect? Zimmerman hires the turkeys who get fired for bad planning elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

The proposed homeless shelter - treatment facility is another Shirlington library-theater deal.