So once again, they go back to the Well of Hope. This is all about an old time theatre which was very popular back in the day and then went down hill from there. From vaudeville to a movie theater to a multiplex to being shuttered for now 18 years, the City decided that it was the one that could revive the fortunes of a downtown that they screwed up back last century with “Urban Renewal” – seldom have the storefronts been full for any kind of time. Instead of learning the hard lessons of trying to be a developer (the stupid project call Lakes Region Business Park which STILL hasn’t sold out the lots after 25 or so years), they decided they could do it again. Again, on Hope (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Hope springs eternal for theater revitalization
There is reason to be optimistic that a much-delayed project to restore the 104-year-old Colonial Theatre will finally get underway next year, Mayor Ed Engler said. The project, intended to breathe new life into downtown Laconia, was originally slated to begin Jan. 1, 2017.
So, already two years late. And it gets worse.
There have been financing issues. Also, early design projections undershot the total cost of the intricate refurbishment. It now looks likely that federal New Markets tax credits, which are to provide $5.4 million for the $17 million project and represent the final unresolved piece of financing, will be received in the first few months of 2019, allowing work to go forward.
Oh goody! Relying on the Federal government for money after any and all private monies refused to touch this pile of trash right from the get to. Yet, the City of Laconia, whose elected representatives have NO experience in developing properties (taxing them, surely, but not building or rehabbing them). It’s like my previous post on Government believes it should be a charity that heals all ills in Society – there’s NOTHING that Government can’t do under Democrat non-partisan leadership.
Sidenote: I think that the State would be better off revoking the “non-partisan” local elections. It’s a shame anyways and wouldn’t it be better for “truth in campaigning”
Sidenote: Unless a Democrat is a wild eyed Socialist, don’t they always seem to campaign on OTHER than how they actually govern?
such that the electorate would at least know their backgrounds?
But I digress:
Engler briefed the City Council on the project Tuesday.
The New Markets program attracts private capital into low-income areas. Investors receive a credit against their federal income tax in exchange for making investments through community development entities — in this case, Mascoma Bank.
No, this is not Private Capital – this is in lieu of paying taxes. It’s just another way to “incentivize” to provide money on things that Democrats like. You know, like the ESA program that allows low income families to send their kids to schools of their choice – it’s funded by a similar mechanism. OH WAIT, the Dems DON’T like it because people get more choice in where their monies can go – and you can’t fund other than government school unions now, can we? But I digress again…
So, now the City of Laconia is betting that a second throw of the tax money dice game will be a winner for it – you know, that Hope idea that lightning won’t strike twice:
When the U.S. Treasury on Feb. 13 allocated $3.5 billion in New Markets tax credits, Mascoma was not one of the 73 recipient organizations. A total of 230 groups applied. Engler said Mascoma views it as unlikely that it will be denied the tax credits two years in a row. Also, it has analyzed how its application for credits was scored in the last allocation and feels its new proposal will be viewed more favorably.
Yeah, Hoping that the Federal Government Font of All Money will spill a few drops is quite the studied plan. And there is no Plan B or Plan C. OH WAIT! There is – and I’m glad that I’m not a Laconia resident:
Engler said Wednesday that, next month, the City Council will be presented with a recommendation for changes in the scope of the project. There is also a chance more city money will be required.
Yeah, after watching this boondoggle for years from my side of the street, it is between a 98-100% certainty that more Laconia tax monies will be following the now bad money that has already come out of that pipline. They just don’t know when to cut their losses. And that “…change in scope” that earlier had been a pillar of the whole project?
Plans for 14 market-rate second- and third-floor apartments will likely need to be altered. Mascoma is precluded from participating in such a residential component, but remains committed to the theater revitalization and associated amenities.
Yeah – Oops! Plan A keeps looking worser and worser. If your bank can’t do it, so you MIGHT end up with a painted over theater but the rest of it is still a dump? Keep squinting harder and hard and tensing your body like the 3 year old Grandson in anticipation that everything will turn out right and there really is a pony under that pile of manure. And they keep talking as if each syllable was a penny towards the project.
A committee of city officials and members of the board of directors of the Belknap Economic Development Council has been meeting frequently. The Economic Development Council has been organizing the project. The city has loaned $1.4 million to the theater revitalization and plans an ultimate investment of $4.2 million.
The hope is that the project will attract more people, business and investment in a downtown area where there is more than 100,000 square feet of commercial space for sale or lease. The economic development council is using a mix of state, federal, city and donor funds in the financing package.
I point out again – why should Government be in the place of being a developer when it’s decades long failures have shown it can’t be? This is akin to Socialists that keep insisting that of COURSE they’ll be successful because the right people haven’t been in charge yet (but THEY are!).
(H/T: Laconia Daily Sun)
