What has been happening with the Packard? If I'm right, Fernando Palazuelo only bought a part of the plant, but probably a fairly large section.
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What has been happening with the Packard? If I'm right, Fernando Palazuelo only bought a part of the plant, but probably a fairly large section.
Was last there in 2011....Attachment 35755
The renovation is scheduled to take 10-15 years......
I last visited more than a month ago. Security, as usual, was in place but I saw few indication that any of the reconstruction work promised a year ago is underway.
A similar question might be asked about Herman Keifer. The gentleman who purchased it, I believe, was obligated to spend at least a million a year on the property to retain title. About a year ago, I think he announced that the first renovation project would be the creation of a botique hotel. When I visited about a month ago, there were no signs of construction crews at work.
Add to that All Quiet list the Highland Park High School / Galapagos Art Project site.
Attachment 36182
A friend sent this to me from the Packard Plant Project Facebook page. It is a post from Kari Smith that she has submitted her 30-day notice of resignation.
She was Fernando Palazuelo's executive assistant and deeply involved in the project for the last 5 to 6 years. Have to wonder what the next step will be. She does neither states what she will be doing next, nor what will become of the Packard Plant. Read for yourself below.
Reading between the lines, I sense she has some frustrations but really loves the project and wants it to succeed.
I'm concerned about the pacing of the project. When things move this slow, it's usually a really bad sign.
Maybe he is distracted in Toledo ?
Mr. Palazuelo said he is under contract to buy the century-old Commerce Paper Co. building on Ontario Street in the Warehouse District for redevelopment into 80 loft-style market-rate apartments.
Mr. Palazuelo said he could not provide the monetary investment that would be needed to renovate the Commerce Paper Co. property into apartments. He said subsidies and financial incentives, including the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax program, would be integral to financing the project.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Real-Estate/2017/02/04/Developer-envisions-downtown-Toledo-gem.html
I wonder if one could generate cash like that,buy a property for 400k pull tax credits or other credits exceeding the purchase price and oops where did it go.
Here is an example of how they are funding
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/10/13/Developers-make-case-to-council-for-downtown-projects.html
The projects Instagram and Facebook appear to show progress at the site.
https://www.instagram.com/packardplantproject/
Council's July 10th meeting including an offer for some city-owned land at 1539 East Grand and 6821 East Ferry by the owners of the Packard. The former is one of the buildings of the plant and the latter looks to be a vacant lot kitty-corner to it. They are proposing to use the building as a mixed-use office, hotel, restaurant, and indoor go-kart track. The empty lot of Ferry will be turned into a parking lot for this usage.
Stuff is going on if you know where to look. I'm surprised anyone wanted to save any of this thing, quite honestly.
I kinda understand this stance. The Packard is not in a central area, unlike the Book Tower downtown or the MCS building in Corktown... and the Packard requires so much input to truly repair it, given its massive size. Nevertheless, if the project is a success, it will breathe lots of new life into that area of the city.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dexlin
It appears she just opened a store in New Orleans. She may have left for purely personal reasons.
Renovating a former factory could be trickier and not as easy as one think. There are still hazardous material underground of the building. Hazmat will have to be involved to escavate and dispose any hazardous material left over or dumped and buried by Packard. Kefanos could not do too much to the Russell Bazaar for the building suffered from many health and structural violations. Maybe that is why Detroit still have empty shell of factories littered all over the city.