Fresh new ideas for Crestwood Courts from Martha Duchild (letter to the editor of the Call) Please click her for her ideas.
I do believe Martha is on to something here folks. I can't add anything more to her fine piece, so I await your comments and ideas.
Tom Ford
NO. 840
Tom Ford
NO. 840
posted by Crestwood Independent at 16:11
12 Comments:
Very well said. Too bad it will go unheeded.
Our Charter allows us to make this be responded to.
"make" it be responded to? How, by flying to Chicago or wherever the owners are and holding them hostage til they read the letter??
PEOPLE!! PEOPLE!!! PEOPLE!!!
ALthough Martha has expressed several options please remember that the property is owned by the investors not you or me or the city. It is their right of ownership to decide how best to use the property.
Read the Charter! While I agree with the fact that the property is not publicly owned, the Charter allows us by petition to force our elected officials to do as Ms. Duchild outlined in her letter, IE approach the property owners with the idea.
Thanks for the reply.
I am aware of the petition process. The petition can only suggest and is not legally binding nor requires a response.
Martha's letter, although thoughtful, is only a suggestion I am certain has been considered by the developers. We have to be patient. Crestwood mall did develop instantly. Rather it took twenty years or more to peak and decline. The cycle will continue and something will happen when the profits support the venture.
8:20 AM Dec. 31st
As stated in my letter, I fully acknowledged that the property belongs to the owners and was theirs to do with as they see fit. I also pointed out that, despite its being in private hands, it is likely that the owners (whomever they turn out to be) will ask for public assistance, in the form of TIF's, TDD's, or CID's, which necessarily introduces a public element to the development.
Martha Duchild
12:52 PM Dec 31st
You are correct in that the developers may have already considered and rejected my suggestion, but rather than make that assumption, I decided to submit the letter to the paper on the off-chance that the owners hadn't considered some, if not all, of my ideas. In addition, if there were enough public support for some of my suggestions, then perhaps the owners would reconsider ideas that they previously rejected.
I agree that the mall evolved over twenty years, but retail conditions have drastically changed during that time. Retail is available in the suburbs and exurbs, so the draw of a shopping center is much less influential now than it was twenty years ago, when retail establishments were less accessible to those living in the outlying counties. That is why I stated that those involved in planning the development should consider the needs of the immediate community over any attempt to draw traffic from outside the community.
Martha Duchild
Happy New Year Tom! All the best to you and your family! And to the rest of Crestwood too!
Happy New Year to all, may it become the year Crestwood comes out a winner !
Tom Ford
While I am sure the owners are considering the immediate needs of the area profit is still the primary motivation.
I do not support subsidies for any business that exists to extract profit from the same people subsidising them. It is one step short of double taxation.
Considering the needs of the immediate community over any attempt to draw traffic from outside the community may not present a large enough audience to justify an investment.
In my humble opinion, I hope I am wrong, many years will pass before any significant activity will occur again. The redevelopment process curve at present is long and steep.
Excellent post 9:12.
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