Residents criticize unsolicited Memorial Park redevelopment proposals and city staff attention

Mike Labelson told the CRA that the city and CRA have prioritized the Terra Frisbie/TOC government campus project despite what he characterized as inadequate financial analysis and a lack of independent appraisal. Labelson said unsolicited proposals were submitted on Oct. 22 (related Ross) and Oct. 23 (Terra Frisbie) to redevelop Memorial Park into commercial real estate and said the timing suggested coordination with council members; he asked the council to correct him if that assumption was incorrect.

He said staff time has been concentrated on the TOC project for months and alleged the only financial analysis available was prepared by CRB, which he described as conflicted because it could earn a contingent fee of $2,800,000 and additional real estate commissions if the deal proceeds. Labelson said the council repeatedly cites a developer projection of $1,000,000,000 of undiscounted benefits over 99 years and disputed that time horizon as an unreasonable basis for public benefit calculations.

Labelson asserted that leasing city land could cause $3 billion to $5 billion of ad valorem tax revenue loss over 99 years and that the city had allocated about $80,000,000 ‘‘before Terra Frisbie does anything.’’ He said 9,000 petitions had been submitted to the council and urged the CRA to delay further work on the TOC until after a March 10 vote and to prioritize other critical work for the city.

Chair Wachter thanked the speaker and closed public requests; no CRA resolution was taken on the TOC during this session.