That sparkling new empty building
Doug Palmer is drawing a line in the sand. And the much-heralded $37 million renovation of a downtown high-rise is doing nothing to revitalize Trenton while his pissing match with developers continues.Palmer claims that the building's developers "want to change the deal" that they made with the city, and he refuses to budge.
The gist of it is that Palmer insists that the developers charge higher rent than they want to. The not-veiled-at-all goal of the mayor is to gentrify downtown.
Not a bad thing in this case, but Trenton's revitalization can't be forced if no one wants to rent at that price.
Downtown Trenton - and who is ultimately responsible for this other than the city's top elected official? - doesn't have a lot going for it right now.
It's a chicken and egg thing. More upscale residential housing will bring money into the area that will feed new retail, restaurants, etc. And having these kinds of businesses open after 6 p.m. and on weekends might attract more higher-income residents.
But the former won't happen overnight without some of the latter.
You've got to start somewhere, and that's why Palmer should compromise on the Broad Street Bank.
Not to mention that a great new building that could be the start of something in the downtown is sitting empty while he squabbles.
Labels: Broad Street Bank building, Doug Palmer
posted by Trentonian Editor at
2:16 PM
2 Comments:
Surely Palmer jests. While he sits and fumes over an issue that will be decided by the revenue needed to satify the developers pockets, Palmer seems to forget. He seems to forget his previous actions recently reported in the New York Times. Palmer in all his media glory flounders when it comes to revitalization projects that have the possibility of truly creating a city that has long since been left out of the loop, as revenue becomes an important factor. Yet, he refuses to let anyone twist his arm on this issue. Suddenly his convictions are unflappable. Reportedly, U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, who quit the 2002 Senate campaign amid ethical and misconduct allegations contributed $10,000 to the mayor as well as his cronies, Staton, Pintella and Segura. The New York Times reads, In September 05, Torricelli purchased the Golden Swan,a historic building from the City of Trenton for $1. Torricelli and Palmer were signatories. Torricelli began investing at least $3 million in restoring the structure. But, he needed city approvals. Thus the donations to council candidates for the June municipal election. These donations came as city agencies, including the Council, were reviewing Torricelli's proposal for the Golden Swan. That fall, the council, including Staton, Pintella and Segura gave Torricelli an $89,000 grant to install an elevator in another building he was developing in downtown Trenton, This March council approved a state loan application for the Golden Swan. Palmer vows to sticks to
his guns refusing to allow the developers to readjust the rental fees for the apartments, in an attempt to uphold the historical as well as coveted lure of the Broad Street Bank Building. One could question the validity of Palmers stance on the issue. As the developers continue to posture and Palmer continues to pose, we forget, it only takes $1.
Regarding, the New York Times report. If a U.S. Senator, dismissed from the Senate amid ethical misconduct allegations, purchased an historical building from the mayor of a city for $1. Then, the U.S. Senator, gives $10,000 to the local mayor and his council cronies. Ultimately,the U.S. Senator is awarded an $89,000 grant from the city,leading to council approving a state application for said senator. Would this be a crime.It certainly was for the Mayor of Newark, Sharp James.
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