Comments on Advance Indiana™: More Questions On City-Financed Downtown Project

Of course, all should be pressuring their elected ...

2010-09-29T05:25:32.351-05:00

Of course, all should be pressuring their elected representatives and the mayor to stop taxing them for nonessential services, especially those who supported Ballard and Daniels and Carson (not me} in the past. Jefferson wrote that Americans would all be wage slaves, with no time to think, if government was allowed to tax us the way it now does.

Ponzi schemes, by definition, can't survive on...

2010-09-28T20:08:29.091-05:00

Ponzi schemes, by definition, can't survive on their own. This is a debt-supported Ponzi scheme that would result in indictments if it involved a private individual like Madoff who could distract the populace from the larger ongoing government Ponzi scheme. They have the Fed and the China; we have TIFS, the bond bank and privatization machinations.

According to its website, "Most Dolce hotels,...

2010-09-28T19:47:38.528-05:00

According to its website, "Most Dolce hotels, resorts and conference hotels are situated just outside major metropolitan areas on large campuses that offer visitors a 'green oasis' consisting of forests, gardens, parkland and even vineyards, providing a 'perfect retreat to recharge and reconnect'."

Just how does this site, hard by downtown, fit into that brand's strategy? There is nothing in their 26-property portfolio that even resembles the purpose alleged for this property.

Sounds to me like another mayoral pipe dream!

Downtown Indy...this is the life blood of big phar...

2010-09-28T19:26:48.785-05:00

Downtown Indy...this is the life blood of big pharma. They keep you sick to keep you coming back for more of what they are selling. You stay sick and they take your money.

The major problem is the cities (not just Indianap...

2010-09-28T19:05:52.663-05:00

The major problem is the cities (not just Indianapolis) are starting to act like the federal government and spend money they don't have. To be perfectly honest I don't see the states economy ever bouncing back to the way it was at the top of the bubble in 2007. With KY and Ohio legalizing casinos and no end to the housing downturn don't look for state revenues to rebound for the next 10 years. Throw in the problems with Lilly having very little in the pipe line for new drugs and I see no major growth in our city's most prominent employer anytime soon.

How much you wanna bet that Keystone Construction ...

2010-09-28T16:44:15.784-05:00

How much you wanna bet that Keystone Construction is in this deal.They and Hirions are making millions off of the relationship with the Mayor.

Hirons hired Ballards son and gets no bid city contracts with in 3 months.No one else got to bid at all

Why is it every deal that gets made is a 'shot...

2010-09-28T14:46:13.609-05:00

Why is it every deal that gets made is a 'shot in the arm' or 'breathing life into the downtown?'

Shouldn't the downtown be off life support and breathing on its own by now?

Or is this like Gleevec, where patients have to take the medicine for the rest of their lives to keep from dying of their cancer? (Sorry, that's not a Lilly drug...)

So WE (the 40% of us who pay taxes) PAY Lilly $15 ...

2010-09-28T14:15:20.164-05:00

So WE (the 40% of us who pay taxes) PAY Lilly $15 MILLION$$ to TAKE Kentucky Avenue (A PUBLIC STREET)away from commuters (I was one)and build another building on it???!!!
WHAT A GREAT CITY! Republicans...WHERE ARE YOU?

Okay... as you know, I was somewhat supportive of ...

2010-09-28T12:55:37.643-05:00

Okay... as you know, I was somewhat supportive of this idea before we had much info. Now it's starting to stink.

I'm hearing different things on the land: I'm hearing that Lilly is "donating it" and then I'm hearing that they will retain ownership of the land (IBJ).

I'm also hearing that the City will guarantee the bonds (Star).

At this point the deal is unconscionable.

My original support was based on the idea that it would be funded by money that otherwise wouldn't be available: However, the $6 mil CDBG money, the $9 mil Street and Utility and the $15 mil parking lot is all money that could be used elsewhere... not to mention the forgiving of the clawback funds.

This is wrong that a private company should put up only $5 mil while the public puts up the rest and Lilly even holds on to it's ownership of the land.

If we are going to do this.. and we shouldn't... then the City should have a majority ownership stake in the deal.
Of course that would beg the question why the City would do such a thing.

The Lilly development killed Kentucky Avenue as a ...

2010-09-28T12:25:49.219-05:00

The Lilly development killed Kentucky Avenue as a major thoroughfare in this city. It has led to blight all along KY Avenue. I wish this city would stop letting Lilly build buildings in the middle of city streets.

How is the City on the hook for closing Kentucky A...

2010-09-28T08:50:55.693-05:00

How is the City on the hook for closing Kentucky Avenue, which Lilly wanted? That's Bush-in-Iraq accounting. You know, they'll pay for their invasion with their oil, sort of thing.

If I were Mayor, I'd drive down Kentucky Avenue, Daley-style, and bulldoze Lilly off our street, and reopen it. It's so tank town to close a major street because a company wants it.

Good work, Gary.