Thursday, February 23, 2006
Portland's Utopian Vision Gets More Expensive
The estimated costs of "public amenities" for Portland's South Waterfront District -- known to its detractors as the "So What" district -- have doubled, and the final estimates are not yet in. Street improvements and parks are expected to cost $50 million more than their original estimates, and "affordable housing" will cost even more.
The district is planned as a high-rise, high-density office and housing complex connected to downtown by a streetcar and connected to several hospitals in the hills above downtown by an aerial tram. The city rejected an ordinary housing complex that originally proposed by the landowners because it was not dense enough.
Now Bob Durgan, a representative of the landowners, calls the city's original estimates "just bizarre" because so many important costs were left out. Although the original estimate was called a "due diligence statement," said Durgan, "this isn't even close to due diligence."
This is reminiscent of the cost overruns for the aerial tram that is supposed to serve the same district. The original estimate of $15 million, put together by a city employee who had no previous experience with tramways, was used to sell the tram idea to the city council. Now the projected cost has risen to $55 million.
The city is counting on TIF money to pay at least some of these costs. But with nothing yet built, there is not yet any TIF money, and up-front costs are already far greater than the original estimates used to justify the project.
The district is planned as a high-rise, high-density office and housing complex connected to downtown by a streetcar and connected to several hospitals in the hills above downtown by an aerial tram. The city rejected an ordinary housing complex that originally proposed by the landowners because it was not dense enough.
Now Bob Durgan, a representative of the landowners, calls the city's original estimates "just bizarre" because so many important costs were left out. Although the original estimate was called a "due diligence statement," said Durgan, "this isn't even close to due diligence."
This is reminiscent of the cost overruns for the aerial tram that is supposed to serve the same district. The original estimate of $15 million, put together by a city employee who had no previous experience with tramways, was used to sell the tram idea to the city council. Now the projected cost has risen to $55 million.
The city is counting on TIF money to pay at least some of these costs. But with nothing yet built, there is not yet any TIF money, and up-front costs are already far greater than the original estimates used to justify the project.
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