Are City Leaders Steering More City Real Estate Properties To Insiders or is There No Big Deal Here?

[Brian Essi]

As part of Summers' Master Agreement, various residential properties around the hospital were returned to the city.

The Administration (essentially the "Board of Control") has sought authority to engage real estate brokers to sell those residential properties. Sounds like a good plan to sell city assets on the open market at a fair price right? Siley, one member of the Board of Control leaves office tomorrow.

I thought that Summers & Co were going to "THINK BIG" about the "BIG OPPORTUNITY" for the development of 6 acres of PRIME REAL ESTATE in the heart of the downtown business district?

If there is actually such a big opportunity in the works and you owned the residential parcels that the city owned, wouldn't you hold on to them until the big plans were more developed---it is likely that you could get the top dollar from the potential developers who might need those parcels for their big plan?

Of course if you already knew what was happening at the six acres and that the surrounding properties weren't needed, why not sell them now and be done with them?

On the other hand, if you are working with the development of the site and the developers needed those parcels, wouldn't you put them on the market? Maybe, but the developers (the only "bidders" with insiders' knowledge of the big deal) would have insiders' knowledge and out bid those who don't know about the "big deal" in the works.

So no big deal right?

[Bridget Conant]

Can you explain this a bit more?

Are you saying the properties are being sold now, before any plans and developers are announced, with the buyers' expectation that once the development plans become known, the new buyer will hope to sell the properties to the developer at a higher price?

That seems illegal.

[Brian Essi]

Can you explain this a bit more?

Are you saying the properties are being sold now, before any plans and developers are announced, with the buyers' expectation that once the development plans become known, the new buyer will hope to sell the properties to the developer at a higher price?

That seems illegal.

Bridget,

I missed a couple of council meetings, but I believe that Dru Siley was or would be given authority to hire a real restate broker to list the residential properties around the hospital for sale. Someone would have to check the council record to see if that authority was actually granted. As I recall, Butler said that Siley & Board of Control would review the offers coming through the broker and then council would have final say on whether to accept the whatever offers were presented. Nothing illegal there....except if there is a actually a deal being secretly hatched with a developer and that developer or a straw man is the winning "bidder" on the residential properties.

For example is a home is really worth about $100K, you or I might buy it for something north of $100K in anticipation of the development adding value to it it. But if a developer working with the city know they deal that's cooking, he is in a better position to know what it is really worth.

Of course, this is all just speculation---our city administration would not steer public assets to any party, would they?

[scott gilman]

Couple of things Mr Siley was not on the Board of Control and the properties for sale are on the west side of Belle and the east side of St Charles. They don't tie into the hospital site

[Brian Essi]

Couple of things Mr Siley was not on the Board of Control and the properties for sale are on the west side of Belle and the east side of St Charles. They don't tie into the hospital site

Thanks Scott.

I thought it may included the Curtis Building too?

That still begs the question, how do the city leaders know that those properties won't be needed for the "Big Deal" unless they already know what the "big deal" is?

Are the properties currently listed for sale with a realtor?

[Marguerite Harkness]

I wonder if the city is going to be a "good landlord" and fix all the violations they uncovered in their inspection - or if the sales will be "buyer beware."