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I saw that the only mention of a smaller city was that of Wilmington DE.
Wilmington really benefits from its close proximity to Philadelphia and can tap into the millions of residents in that area for labor, customers, vendors and investment. I think the city's location in the density populated corridor between Philadelphia and D.C gives it a major advantage. Developers probably can absorb the added costs with so many large employers (and state government) in that city. I'm not sure what project the CBA was used for or if it is uniform for all projects, but Wilmington benefits from the presence of credit card companies and lawyers due to Delaware's notoriously friendly laws. J.P Morgan Chase and companies like Discover and Barclays each have thousands of employees in the city. Dupont is also nearby. There are some nice developments along the harbor visible from the Amtrak routes.
In the case of the Inner Harbor and future projects in the city - there needs to be a compromise. As I have stated earlier, I support giving preference to city residents, particularly those residing in high poverty areas. Apprenticeships supported by the developer should be mandated, however demanding at least "$2 million" for program "Y" and hiring company Z to manage compliance, hiring ____ people from here, and ___% from there is way too rigid for a project that will probably be scaled down or have difficulty obtaining financing. There needs to be compliance, but it should not be someone affiliated with the Urban Jobs Taskforce or the Miner Administration.
Wilmington really benefits from its close proximity to Philadelphia and can tap into the millions of residents in that area for labor, customers, vendors and investment. I think the city's location in the density populated corridor between Philadelphia and D.C gives it a major advantage. Developers probably can absorb the added costs with so many large employers (and state government) in that city. I'm not sure what project the CBA was used for or if it is uniform for all projects, but Wilmington benefits from the presence of credit card companies and lawyers due to Delaware's notoriously friendly laws. J.P Morgan Chase and companies like Discover and Barclays each have thousands of employees in the city. Dupont is also nearby. There are some nice developments along the harbor visible from the Amtrak routes.
In the case of the Inner Harbor and future projects in the city - there needs to be a compromise. As I have stated earlier, I support giving preference to city residents, particularly those residing in high poverty areas. Apprenticeships supported by the developer should be mandated, however demanding at least "$2 million" for program "Y" and hiring company Z to manage compliance, hiring ____ people from here, and ___% from there is way too rigid for a project that will probably be scaled down or have difficulty obtaining financing. There needs to be compliance, but it should not be someone affiliated with the Urban Jobs Taskforce or the Miner Administration.
Good points about Wilmington. Its location and the industries it has does help.
I do wonder there will be an adjustment to the CBA here in terms of wage and making sure that there is a balance in terms of employment for some lower income residents and skilled laborers.
Just as I had expected, the "Urban Jobs Taskforce" has submitted its demand to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) in exchange for city support for the Inner Harbor Development project:
Toward the middle of this attachment is a rambling PowerPoint presentation highlighting the success of Community Benefit Agreements in other cities. As would be expected, there are not too many success stories outside of Los Angeles and New York City. The CBA referenced in Los Angeles was in 1999. Other examples were in other larger cities with economic vitality including Portland, OR and Pittsburgh.
In addition to demanding that SIDA force the developers of the Inner Harbor project to abide by this rigid mandate, activists also want SIDA to force developers in "future" projects to abide by similar demands. Guess what? There won't be any "future" projects if SIDA is foolish enough to adopt the stringent demands of this group. Unfortunately, Miner will likely force the SIDA which is comprised of her appointees to capitulate. The other "success" story referenced in the PPT is the redevelopment of the Gary, IN airport and the creation of an airport authority for a runway expansion project. In August, Gary lost its last remaining air career. Gary Airport board moving on after Allegiant loss - Post-Tribune
Great post RR (as w/your original), esp. comparison to larger metro areas (its apples and "oranges"). I see two possible scenarios however for the inner-harbor project. Remember her son-in-law (seems strange to say that) is employed by COR, she may pay lip service to the Urban Jobs Task-force and argue that their demands are not feasible. The same could also be said of Loguen Crossing. Her virtual re-election assures no political repercussions. Or, she can force SIDA to embrace these CBA mandate and risk the 300m (+/-) project. As for a City wide mandate (which is more likely), she will have Pyramid in her cross-hairs. However, the proverbial "bite the nose to spite your face" will apply and run the risk future projects by other developers.
As for Gary, its proximity to Midway airport and being a distressed city made Allegiant's success prohibitive from the start. Most reliever airports may succeed in mega metros like Chicago, but in this case the dynamics were a challenge. Allegiant is a liesure airline, I would guess that most residents of Gary and/or south Chicago are poor and don't have the disposable income for such luxuries. Those in the western or northern burbs of Chicago are not going to drive all the way to Gary to save a few bucks. I would guess that northern Indiana does not have the population to carry the load.
Last edited by urbanplanner; 09-18-2013 at 02:11 PM..
Has anyone been down Solar Street lately? The property directly across from the Inner Harbor is in the process of being cleared of trees and brush. A quick search of county tax records reveals it is owned by Emerald Point, Inc. with an address of 9090 Carousel Center Drive. It is a massive piece of property, extending from Bear Street to Court Street. Any clue as to what's in store there?
Has anyone been down Solar Street lately? The property directly across from the Inner Harbor is in the process of being cleared of trees and brush. A quick search of county tax records reveals it is owned by Emerald Point, Inc. with an address of 9090 Carousel Center Drive. It is a massive piece of property, extending from Bear Street to Court Street. Any clue as to what's in store there?
Good catch. I did a quick search and Emerald Point, Inc. and another company on N. Clinton Street are both owned by Pyramid. I wonder if this a part of environmental testing or something related to remediation of the site. Perhaps the newspaper could take a look into the matter.
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Solar Street
