Quote Originally Posted by Gistok View Post
But not without a firestorm.... City Council, the preservation community... and since it's on the National Register... probably the National Trust....
A firestorm is not necessary. What is necessary is an outside developer with the finances and wherewithal to get the job done. I think Olympia has pretty much admitted that they don't have the experience to do it and are looking for someone who does. Of course they can be redeveloped, but not if they take as long as it took the Strathmore to get going. If the arena is finished and the Eddystone and Park Ave are still sitting there waiting for financing to even start rehab, that is not going to be acceptable. While the Ilitch companies have plenty of money and don't seem to be overly shy in spending it, there are still cash flow considerations with a project as big as the arena. There will most certainly be cost overruns. I think $650 million is just a starting figure. And now with the NCAA's booked, there is a deadline as well. I think when Chris Ilitch said they were out of scale with the rest of the area, he was referring more to amount of resources that would have to be put into them in relation to the size of their footprint than their visual size. Bottom line: if someone wants to step up, I think they will be more than welcome.