Residents don't want restaurant at Corktown fire station

[Richard]

Dead wrong. Some end up that way, some don't. This is an established neighborhood that's on the rise, on steroids. Ford Motor Company just bought the biggest eye sore on the block, and their going to revamp it. The second building they've revamped. If I had the money, and the inclination, I'd do a feasibility study, divide it into 2 or 4 high-end luxury apartments. Someone @ the top of the food chain would pay good money to live there. You could leave one or two open for short term lease. Ford brings employees in from all over the globe for special projects. HUD?!?! Oh please! Go re-read my post about distance and not having a clue. The City made a good call on this one.

You hit the jist of it all when you say "if I had the money I would do feasibility study"

It is hard to comment on how something will not work without a feasibility study.

If i was at the top of the food chain,I would not be renting,and if I was it would be in something like a penthouse in the Book Cadillac,that has a wow factor and a parking garage for my Porsche and not parking on the street while living in a firehouse.

It has a cool factor for you and me maybe but top of the food chain would not be mixing there.

High end does not mix in a market that is based on average rents,you are only going to get what it is worth.

I take it that most that oppose it have not also done a feasibility study in the determination that it must be apartments,because they live there,they know,so they would be jumping all over it.

I would say the person that came up with the business on the bottom with residential on top,which is an ideal situation,actually did a feasibility study and that is what they came up with in order to make the numbers work.

What is wrong with it becoming HUD or a drug rehab live in facility?,are you saying that those people are not welcome in the new Corktown?

You are aware of the rule of any new apartments coming online must retain a percentage for market rental rates? You live there correct?

So if you have two that are high end you still have to set aside 1 for market rate,so you have just removed 25% from your market profit right off of the top.

So you have 3 luxury apartments and one market rate,you are losing money before even you have nailed a welcome sign on the wall.

So you are spending close to a million,if not over,in order to receive a return that equates to one market rate rental,if you are lucky and have no vacancies.

Good luck with that,to many easier and less headache projects with higher returns to mess around when spending that kind of money.

If it was feasible as an apartment building,people would have been lined up around the block a long time ago in order to convert it.

The only thing that has changed is Fords purchase and the current owner can bail with profit based on speculation,it is the only thing that has made it desirable.

But along with speculation comes increased prices,higher mortgages,higher property taxes and changes to current zoning because if you do not it puts a whole lot of properties in a hold status and it will stall.

No matter what you are only going to get market rates based on supply and demand.