Hospital Site Development

[dl meckes]

Isn't that interesting?

Quoted from cleveland.com

"In quest for new development on Lakewood Hospital site, Ed FitzGerald consultant for finalist

Posted on June 28, 2017 at 3:56 PM
The next step in the Lakewood Hospital site redevelopment process is coming up at the end of the week.
The next step in the Lakewood Hospital site redevelopment process is coming up at the end of the week.(File photo)
By Emily Bamforth, cleveland.com
ebamforth@cleveland.com
edfitzgeraldEd Fitzgerald (File photo)

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Lakewood is down to two choices to develop its former Lakewood Hospital. And one finalist has hired former Cuyahoga County Executive and Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald as a consultant.
Columbus-based Casto, working with North Pointe Realty Inc., and Westlake-based Carnegie Management and Development plan to submit proposals Friday containing the amount of proposed office, retail and residential space, sustainability measures and number of parking spots. These documents will give residents a clearer vision of possibilities for the six-acre spot in downtown Lakewood.
The process of developing the site into what the city has pitched as "Lakewood's finest multi-functional outdoor community gathering space" followed controversy over the shuttering of Lakewood Hospital. The Cleveland Clinic broke ground on the new 62,000-square-foot $34 million Lakewood Family Health Center in April, which drew protesters.
Read more: Groundbreaking for Cleveland Clinic's new Lakewood Family Health Center met with opposition
The two finalists to redevelop the hospital site were selected from five first-round finalists in May, after being interviewed and selected by the city and a citizen-led advisory panel.
Casto's properties include Easton Square, Broad & High and Tuttle Crossing. Carnegie's properties include North Olmsted Towne Center and Middleburg Towne Center.
Read more about the companies and see their previous project submissions here.
Carnegie hired FitzGerald, former councilman and mayor of Lakewood, to serve as an economic development advisor. FitzGerald said he has done this kind of work, which typically includes site location and advisement on financials and tenants, in seven states.
"This is the core of what I do," he said. "This just happens to be in the town that I live in."
Fitzgerald served as councilman for nearly a decade, and mayor from 2008 to 2010, when he was elected county executive. He ran in 2014 for governor, but lost definitively to Republican incumbent John Kasich after news broke that FitzGerald had not had a driver's license for a decade.
"We're not an outer-ring suburb that has a lot of farmland or something, so the city has to be very particular about who they partner with and the parameters they reach with that developer," FitzGerald said.
FitzGerald said he has seen developers break promises on projects. He said he hopes he can bring sensitivity to that in his consulting role.
After the developers submit, the next step is a joint public meeting with the Architectural Board of Review and Planning Commission in the auditorium of City Hall at 6:30 p.m. July 25.
A recommendation to city council is expected in the fall.

[Bridget Conant]

The truth is out.

As I suspected, Fitzgerald had his hand in this.

This was planned and executed over several years.

Fitz and friends will benefit from this development.

As Jim said, Lakewood, you've been played.

[Jim O'Bryan]

The truth is out.

As I suspected, Fitzgerald had his hand in this.

This was planned and executed over several years.

Fitz and friends will benefit from this development.

As Jim said, Lakewood, you've been played.

Bridget

I never would have thought they would be so ballsy and so stupid with this.

All Lakewoodites should be outraged.

Ed FitzGerald started the hospital sale, the minute he appointed Mike Summers to LHA.

They both lied and said it was happened suddenly, but it like most of this deal, nothing more than a lie.

So they sell Lakewood's largest assets and the friends keep 100% of the money, not the people.

Lakewood didn't get played, we all got f*cked. BIG TIME

.

[Bridget Conant]

He's working with Carnegie Management and Development, whose president Rustom Khouri, is a contributor to Mayor Summers' campaign coffers.


Coincidence?

[Nadhal Eadeh]

So let's get this straight, the mayor that initiated the closing winds up as a finalist for the hospital redevelopment site?

Very fishy. I urge Lakewood residents to contact the U.S. District Attorney in Northeast Ohio:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/contact

A concerted effort must be made to engage Sherrod Brown and Marcy Kaptur in this ordeal.

Nadhal

[Michael Deneen]

So the guy who partnered with the Clinic to begin the "Decanting Process" in 2010 now stands to benefit from development of the site in 2017.
Among his partners are a major GOP donor to Mike Summers campaign.
Will this open anyone's eyes? Or will "Team Summers" stay wrapped in the same "Cocoon of Denial" that Trump fans are currently in?

[Jared Denman]

I wonder if Rustom Khouri is related to Thomas J. Coury? The whole family contributed to Summers campaign and get contracts from the City.

This never made the print edition but here it is:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2017/0 ... -lakewoods

[Lori Allen _]

Jared,

Thanks for bringing that up. On the surface, it would appear that these two families are not related, and it is still fairly probable they are not. However, I do recall either Rustom Khouri or his parents being immigrants from somewhere in the Middle East. Those of us familiar with history may recall that many immigrants anglicize or "Americanize" their names upon immigration. It seems at least possible that Coury could be an anglicized form of Khouri, and perhaps two branches of the Khouri family immigrated, with one branch anglicizing their name and the other branch not. Again, chances are that this is not the case and they are not related, but it is possible. The only way to find out for sure would be to do some heavy research, and look for naturalization or similar documents. I'm not sure I feel like going that far, as the bottom line is that this whole charade is indeed still fishy.

My question remains: why do folks like Fitz! believe that Mr. Summers will protect them until the bitter end? When poop really hits the fan, I suspect Mr. Summers will throw everyone else to the wolves and look out for only one person: himself.

Edward O. Fitzgerald: What should we expect from someone that, from what it appears, uses Kevin M. Butler as a front man for his part-time faux newspaper follies?

[Bridget Conant]

Edward O. Fitzgerald: What should we expect from someone that, from what it appears, uses Kevin M. Butler as a front man for his part-time faux newspaper follies?

That's correct. Kevin Butler and Fitz are the people behind DEMOCRACY ADVISORS and GREAT lAKES STRATEGIES.

Do these two businesses play any role in the planning and development of the hospital site?

Keep in mind that Kevin Butler was placed in charge of "negotiating" with the Cleveland Clinic and, in fact, negotiated a WORSE deal than the very first one made.

This all stinks to high heaven.

Love to hear Jim Kenny and his ilk defend this latest reveal.

[Jim O'Bryan]

An oldie but it seems so today!


.

[Kate McCarthy]

I wonder if Rustom Khouri is related to Thomas J. Coury? The whole family contributed to Summers campaign and get contracts from the City.

This never made the print edition but here it is:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2017/0 ... -lakewoods

This should make it to the print edition. Very good analysis that should get a wide audience.

[Mark Kindt]

Under this topic, let's also keep track of what we learn about economic incentives and tax incentives provided to the developers and future occupants at the redeveloped Hospital site.

Remember, the City of Lakewood has already lost:

1. The current lease revenue and future lease revenue streams from Lakewood Hospital;

2. Employee income tax receipts for Lakewood Hospital;

3. Millions of dollars of public funds questionably diverted to a private party (a new non-profit);

4. The value of the residual contractual rights and residual assets related to Lakewood Hospital that the City surrendered on a nominal basis;

5. Millions of dollars in charitable care that will no longer be provided by the now-defunct Lakewood Hospital;

6. A proposed new $100,000,000 investment in Lakewood Hospital from Metro Health System that the City rejected.

When we start hearing more PR spin from the developers and deluded public officials about how great this "investment" is, let's never forget what has been done to us as citizens and taxpayers.

I hope that our public officials have the good sense not to offend us further with another public relations campaign conducted at taxpayer expense (like we've learned of in the recently produced documents).

[Mark Kindt]

This never made the print edition but here it is:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2017/0 ... -lakewoods

What Mr. Denman describes in his Lakewood Observer article is known as "pay-to-play" politics. Ohio is rather famous for this style of politics. His article brings home the point of why the City of Lakewood needs to adopt robust ethics-in-government standards and policies.

There is no reason for any elected public official in Lakewood to receive any campaign contribution from any vendor doing business with the City or proposing to do business with the City. It simply creates the appearance or the reality that Lakewood is a pay-to-play city.

[Dan Alaimo]

This never made the print edition but here it is:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2017/0 ... -lakewoods

What Mr. Denman describes in his Lakewood Observer article is known as "pay-to-play" politics. Ohio is rather famous for this style of politics. His article brings home the point of why the City of Lakewood needs to adopt robust ethics-in-government standards and policies.

There is no reason for any elected public official in Lakewood to receive any campaign contribution from any vendor doing business with the City or proposing to do business with the City. It simply creates the appearance or the reality that Lakewood is a pay-to-play city.

How would you phrase that in a question to the Mayor that he could/would answer? At this moment I've been delayed and may not make it to the Dem club, but maybe someone else could ask it.

[Lori Allen _]

Since pay-to-play was mentioned:

Pay-to-play has been happening in Lakewood for a minimum of a few years. The biggest example of pay-to-play in my opinion was when Cynthia A. Marx received $1,000 from James W. Kemp Jr. of Huron Consulting, and then proceeded to engage in business and dialogue with Huron Consulting. I suppose the cherry on top of this one is the fact that Huron was apparently nothing more than a formality to look honest. It is now slowly coming out that Mr. Summers and City Council knew what they were doing to do since December of 2014 (at least), despite their claims of "due diligence". All of that taxpayer money, down the drain, when City Council apparently knew the outcome from day one. I would rather they take my taxes and flush them down the toilet as opposed to spending money on these faux "studies" and "reports". That is an outrage.

The Khouri/Fitzgerald/Carnegie Development saga is only the latest in what appear to be pay-to-play schemes.

- The owner of South Shore Cable Inc. donated $250 to Mr. Summers' campaign. South Shore Cable was given a contract to install the lines and other apparatus for the fiber-optic system Mr. Summers wanted so badly. I wonder why.

- Both the CEO and Vice President of CT Consultants donated a total of $750 to Mr. Summers' 2015 mayoral campaign. CT Consultants gets a boatload of jobs from City Hall.

- While it is not necessarily pay-to-play, it is also interesting to note that Relief Properties Inc. (A.K.A. Darren) donated $500 to Lakewood Voters for Progress. Is this why Darren is allowed to take almost two years to complete projects, while leaving the house and work site a wreck?

- I also recall the President of Liberty Development being a Lakewood resident and mayoral campaign donor. Liberty Development was selected to build McKinley Place.

I mentioned some of these pay-to-play scenarios, with documentation, in a rather old thread here:

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewt ... le#p164478

I agree that an ethics policy needs to be adopted, but there is one problem. Even if this cast of characters did enact such a policy, would they follow it? If not, who could hold them accountable?

Also, the amount of the contribution does not always matter. At the least any kind of donation at least points to friendship.