Ilitches finally moving on Fine Arts Building facade & Blenheim Apts?

[Richard]

You are not sure what it means because you are trying to compare two totally different business profiles and expecting them to operate the same way.

One buys a building,fixes it up and puts it to use,what project has Bedrock done that can be considered developing an entire district.

Olympia would have been insane to launch a district project in 1999,the city was not ready for it.

When projects like that are announced it does not mean tomorrow they are going to start digging,it’s saying that’s what they envision as a long term plan to start gaining support.

You do understand there is a massive difference between buying a single building for $10 and fixing it for $20 dollars verses planning and developing an entire district that involves multiple blocks and a billion dollars.

Then there is Detroit time in Tampa a 40 story apartment/condo tower with all of the fixings is 6 months or less start to finish.

How long has there been plans for the Hudson’s property and how long has it been to put a building up ?

All of these other cities that you want to be like were in not very good condition in the 70s early 80s it took them over 40 years to get where they are now.

Half of those are back on the down slide again.

It’s easy to buy 1 building and fix it and the public gets what they are looking for ,instant gratification.

You are rebuilding a city,unless you can twinkle your nose and make every pretty in a matter of seconds it’s going to take time and that time is going to be filled with lots of things that never come to fruition and lots of things that will,you are not going to change that.

Push comes to shove,go down to your bank,pull out a few billion and get it knocked out and show them how to do it.

Back in those days you could have also bought those buildings for pennies on the dollar while restoring them,but think how it was then what would you have done with the building?

It cost you money to buy it,it cost you taxes and money to maintain it while there was no demand for it,so a parking lot was the highest and best use until in the future dictates it’s use.

It was a pretty common thing to do under urban renewal,destroy it and they will come,but nobody came.

Back to what does it mean ?

The same thing it has always ment,you take everything with a grain of salt and until the shovel hits the dirt it is what it is.

You have to admit sending out RFPs is a good way of showing people you are not just letting a building sit there while doing nothing with it,without actually doing anything.

There is a whole bag of tricks when it comes to optics.