SHE WON'T GO!
On this day five years ago, a great man and a great mayor came together to announce a very great hotel that would sweep away the rabble and shower Lexington with jobs, prosperity, pride and a Hard Rock Cafe.
Not so much, eh?
But seriously, who could have predicted such a failure? (Besides us and Rob Morris.)
Speaking of Rob Morris, today he marked the anniversary with much deserved derision and “I told you so’s” in this tour de force that you should go read in its entirety.
I think I’ll call this my favorite excerpt, which pretty much sums it up:
The developers lied.
They lied repeatedly. And with no trace of shame. It isn’t a pleasant or polite thing to say, but Lexington needs to stop being polite to hucksters and charlatans.
They lied about their secret mystery financier. They lied about his death. They lied about his heirs and ‘numbered Swiss bank accounts’. They lied about backup financing. They lied about backup financing for the backup financing. They lied about the urgency of demolishing historic buildings. They lied about their schedule. They lied about tenant commitments. They lied about 61 (or 64! or 65!) ‘handshake’ deals for their condominiums. They lied with pretty pictures of ugly buildings. They lied with pretty pictures of pretty buildings. And they lied with overly optimistic financial projections.
They lied to the press. They lied to the public. They lied to the Urban County Council. They might have even lied to themselves.
And when their thick layers of lies wore thin, they resorted to insulting and bullying their critics instead of offering substantive rebuttals.
Strong words, but I hear Dudley is breaking ground in 60-90 days, so we’ll be eating crow soon.
Until then, continue enjoying your invisible unicorn park, Lexington.
(For additional fun times, this classic 2,300-word screed (once described by a dirty foul-mouthed blogger as “Dudley Webb’s ego masturbating in public“) by The Dud just keeps getting funnier with age, so you should go soak in that for a bit, too, because how often do we get to celebrate an anniversary so festive?)
THE DAILY YONDER
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
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Oh, I didn’t realize we had an invisible unicorn park! That’s so much more exciting!
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Not to “concern troll” here, and wasn’t the biggest fan of Jim Newberry. Mayor Gray HAS made strides on Centrepointe, yes. He helped put together qualified consultant teams and boosted a positive “we can solve this” mentality.
But in terms of pure optics, the fact that there remains an empty lot in downtown is now two years on the Mayor’s watch. The original announcement of Centrepointe was in 2008, and while Newberry’s wholehearted endorsement and “contributions” to this debacle are uncontested, he was at the helm only two years himself.
Bad things happen to cities all the time. And Centrepointe is/was a bad thing. But eventually, someone has to SOLVE the problem, minus reiterating blame. Gray’s handling of the pension crisis is a good example of this kind of solving.
Gray staked a big claim to solving the Centrepoint mess. If, in two or three more years, Centrepointe remains unfulfilled, will the Mayor then own the failure himself?
I would ask to avoid flaming? Just trying to make a point.
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Outside of imminent domain, what exactly CAN he do? Gray hooked him him up with Gang, giving Dudley every opportunity to turn this mess around, and Dudley fired them. Dudley owns the land and wants to do whatever he wants, and tells people to go to hell when they tell him to be open to something different. Outside of I.D. or a time machine, what specifically would you suggest Gray do?
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I agree that Mayors have few “official” options – ID, pursuing purchase of the property for a new government center, etc. But he will continue to have the bully pulpit for many years, minus a successful electoral challenge or resignation, both unlikely.
Not having been elected Mayor, I make no claim on solutions or suggestions. I don’t know the answers. Perhaps the mayor can use his powers to pressure, or bring in other “incentives” that might help the Webbs move forward, or perhaps sell. Swallowing hard, and the bad people will win, but the hole might be filled.
My comment was to ask the question/make the point that this problem may become Gray’s if HE doesn’t figure it out. He was elected to take the ball further down the field than had been done. His progress has been admirable, but the hole is still there.
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It’s not the war in Iraq or the one in Afghanistan. He’s inheriting a project that already demolished buildings and by all accounts Gray did his best to bring about a change in policy by the landowners. No one is trying to blame him for the landowners’ continued inability to raise capital. You seem to think some one is doing so or will do so. That’s farfetched. The blame is pretty squarely on the former Mayor and on the landowners. Gray may have weaknesses, but you are not making a good case that this is one of them. No one else is either. Are you sure you are thinking this through correctly? But your concern about not seeming concerned is noted.
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I just thought it interesting to bring up the idea that Jim Gray may be invested in the success of Centerpointe beyond what he may be able to solve, and wondered what the response would be then.
No, it is not a war. But it is a very hot-button topic in this town, and one semi-defined by Mayor Gray’s taking it on as a major plank of his campaign platform.
I disagree with your take that it is far-fetched that someone may hang and empty Centerpointe around Jim Gray’s neck.
I can’t imagine that if Centerpointe is still empty in four years, and it’s already been five, that a candidate/the media won’t come along and beat the Mayor about the head with it.
So, I’ll leave the conversation here. Made a few points, heard a few, etc.
And also, in regards to the undeserved “Not Concern Trolling the Non-Concern Troll” and the “concern about not seeming concerned is noted” snark? Go fuck yourself.
I think I’m thinking that through correctly. Noted?
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Look at it this way…At least Lexingtonians, thus far, don’t have to worry about a giant sink hole swallowing up CentrePointe.
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To quote Judy Tenuta, “It could happen!”
Old-timers may remember the tales of a cave system under downtown Lexington that once contained mummified Indians.
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