While I commend The Forum and Mayor Tim Mahoney for their candor regarding tax incentives for development in general, and Block 9 in particular, I don't share their enthusiasm for subsidizing that project.
It is unlikely, as Commissioner Tony Gehrig recently wrote in a column published April 7th , that the builders would spend $100 million on a tower which requires a generous taxpayer kick-in to succeed. With shameful irony, we are compelled to assist the wealthy among us to construct million dollar condos as a high-rise component. What a country! Every state agency, program, and activity is scrambling desperately for money to survive, let alone thrive, yet it is apparently business as usual in the city of Fargo.
It is unclear how Block 9 will smoothly integrate with the setting into which it will be dropped; Broadway is hardly uncongested now-it is difficult to imagine 18 floors of fun along that narrow street improving downtown mobility.
If you wanted urban density, you are going to get it, so be prepared to bike, walk or transit to the Block 9 area. There is likely a piece of paper somewhere in city hall depicting an auto-free Broadway in our future. We common citizens get what we pay for; in this case, sadly, the payments are involuntary. Meanwhile, BTO marches along, Takin' Care of Business, oblivious of, or uncaring about, ethical conflicts.
Dolan lives in Fargo
