Post by Anxious on Dec 19, 2003 13:39:59 GMT -5
The Bay City commission received a report this week on a two-day study done by the Urban Land Institute out of Washington, DC. It is their recommendation that the city shouldn't move foreward on the the project until the economy of the city improves! They cited concerns with the lack of jobs locally. They in essence are saying the project at this time is not economically feasible even though the city is holding funds of about nine million dollars!I for one think this is hog-wash and I can not understand why such a study was undertaken in the first place at this point in the planning. The city needs to work as quickly as possible in beginning the redevelopment of this property which has remained largely unused since the Industrial Brownhoist closed in 1983.
It's critical to quickly formulate a master plan that allows us to begin renewal of property. A plan that is can be implemented in phases and is flexible to allow for changing conditions . Much can be done now simply by improving the grounds and adding public access to it. None of the historical buildings should be torn down until we are absolutely certain they no longer have value to our community.
Let's do what we can now instead of depleting the resources we have with endless studies. The answers to "what next" will come and may be totally different from what is on the table today.
