A friend of mine went to a New Year's Eve Party at a non-denominational church. There, attendees wrote on a slip of paper what they would like to leave behind from the old decade and set them on fire in a pile. So long. Sayonara.
I guess executive management of McClatchy, that purchased The Miami Herald at the top of the market, would like to do that with its $4.5 billion purchase of Knight Ridder in 2006. What were they thinking? Newspaper readers know one thing for sure: the real estate boom was pixie dust that made executives in all industries related to the Growth Machine, rich.
That was the tenor of the decade, encapsulated in the deal to turn a 10 acre parcel, the company parking lot, outside the Herald headquarters into $190 million. The deal between the Herald and a group of investors lead by Pedro Martin was consummated in March, 2005 and it was supposed to close by Dec 31, as reported in the Herald in one of the final stories of the decade. At the time, it was just one more upward tick of the frenzy that had obscured the relationship of critical thinking by the mainstream press about the sad transformation of the Florida landscape by speculators into a market bubble. It also accounts for the poor coverage leading up to decisions to spend $500 million on the Carniverous Performing Arts Center and the planning for museums in the last open space in the downtown waterfront: Bicentennial Park. With so much money tied up in a parking lot, whose future value meant nearly $200 million to Herald owners, what chance did the public interest have?
The Miami Herald could not provide critical coverage of the most important story of the decade when the compensation of its top executives was tied to "everyone is doing it". It wasn't just downtown. It was in the farmland of South Dade and West Dade where development at any cost ran rampant. What is good for the goose, is good for the gander. In other words, the Herald couldn't write critically of growth in the suburbs so long as its profits and wealth creation was tied to real estate downtown. The Herald parking lot will stay an empty space for a long time. The deal looks to be busted. In my opinion, McClatchy will get its $190 million before newspaper readers get a mea culpa from past and present executives of the Miami Herald for failing to report the biggest story of the decade as it was taking place, dragging the US economy down with it.
20 comments:
No one will pay $190 Million or $240 Million, the price after Pedro Martin extracted a flip fee, to McClatchy. As usual, the taxpayers will be asked to pay for someone else's mistakes. Elected officials officials will be asked to give a connected developer a profit, at the expense of the taxpayers. Elected officials should just say No.
Why isn't the Miami Herald reporting that the proposed two museums that wanted free land on Bicentennial Park and $300+ Million in taxpayer money are both broke? As museums nationwide are canceling and scaling back projects why is the no-collection and no-endowment Miami Art Museum scam still going forward?
The Director of the Miami Science Museum stated her museum might have to close reported "Miami Today". Why hasn't Miami-Dade County pulled the plug on this pending disaster? Can they afford another $1 Billion disaster?
What about the stupid S. Dade Art Center that Moss had to have? It will never be a success; are we still pouring money into that boondoggle?
The whole lot: dumber than dirt until there's a commission or fee to be made.
During the Marlins Bailout Hearing George Burgess testified the South Dade Art Center was on time and on budget. Burgess lied. The Herald had just printed a story about the project being behind schedule and over budget. Burgess lied so commissioners would approve the Marlins Bailout. Not one commissioner called him out.
" Burgess Lied"
NO that's not possible, Mr. Burgess is a fine and upstanding citizen of this communitty he reminds me of another exemplary young man by the name of Scott Rothstien who is being visciously and wrongfully attacked.
If only Scott could take the money at the point of a gun like Georgy and his compadres at 111 NW 1street do he wouldn't be in such a pickle right now.
Where is the justice? Have we no shame?
Repeat after me
Free Scott! Free Scott! Free Scott!
Free Bernie! Free Bernie!
I can't believe how many people on this blog bitch and moan about investing in cultural arts.
Oh, the horror - an arts museum and a science museum on the bay! They're burning the city down with such crazyness.
I'd rather see money spent on PUBLIC cultural attractions, and I'd rather have seen more of it come from tourist taxes instead of shoveling it into a sports stadium. When I go to New York, I go to the Museum of Natural History, to the art museums and to see a play. Granted, Miami isn't New York, but people also bad-mouthed Miami as the home for Art Basel and that seemed to work out just fine.
The South art center is behind schedule because the general contractor sucked. The county actually did right by forcing them to re-do a bunch of work and eat the cost. The delays are unfortunate, but in the end, it will be a magnificent facility that will host all sorts of cultural activities. Don't the people living south of Tamiami Trail deserve a center for the arts too?
You can get all of your cultural exposure by watching YouTube all day, but I'd rather take in a play and catch some jazz by the waterfront.
You are uninformed Cultural Comando ...I often report from the Arsht center and see shows there. Because some of us don't believe we have enough public dollars to spend on certain things like stadiums and concert halls doesn't mean we have no culture nor that we dislike baseball. It is a case of limited tax dollars in a very poor city -- shall I call you elitist?
People do not object to art and they do not object to museums. People object to cheapo fake art museum directors who refuse to donate or to raise the money they promised for their own museums. Throughout the United States proposed museums are bring canceled or downsized. Most museums that have been completed in the last few decades are privately funded.
Miami Art Museum is broke. In fact, people claim the museum is in debt. Their only hope to is to con Miami-Dade County staffers and commissioners into using taxpayer money to continue the disaster.
If people want art Miami has 4-6 excellent privately funded museums and colections that all have better collections than Miami Art Museum. Further, Wynwood has over 100 galleries and showrooms. All privately funded, as it should be.
"What chance did the public interest have?" Umm, last time I checked, building high density in an urban core - a la what was proposed for the Herald site - IS in the public interest by promoting walkability and preserving suburban open space. And what does EOM care about the price of a piece of urban land as long as whoever buys it builds a decent building? In other words, what's the point of this post?
Smart readers are scared history will repeat itself and the taxpayers will continue getting stuck bailing out stupid developers and bailing out stupid elected officials.
Anyone remember the taxpayers being forced to pay over $3 Billion to bail out the privately owned Marlins?
Nothing wrong with building high density in the urban core. Just do it with private money.
How many "decent buildings" were built in the downtown core were allowed to be built that exceeded demand, or, any standard of reasonable planning? You heard what Ben Bernanke said over the weekend: that low interest rates weren't responsible for the the bust. Lack of and poorly enforced regulations were. What this blog has published, repeatedly, is that the issue of regulations is narrowly described as being related to the financial sphere: the example of Miami and Florida (not to mention other busted places like Las Vegas) is that land use and development regulations were a key part of the problem. The Herald had all the tools it needed to report out the issue, but they missed the biggest story of the century because their executives were blinded by the profit motive: the Herald parking lot is the apocryphal example-- that's the point of the post. The public interest was stampeded in the gold rush: the Miami Herald had the voice and the journalists to report what was happening. Its editors and executives didn't see what was coming? Come on._They didn't _want_ to report the fiasco as it developed.
Was any public money talked about for the Herald site? If not how were taxpayers at risk of bailing out anyone?
Yes.
Yes, taxpayers are at risk.
the botton line is that Miami Dade County is in deep trouble, as long as we continue electing and keeping in public office individuals such as George Burgess, Carlos Alvarez, most of the commissioners this county will go bankrupt, thanks to our elected leaders, but think about it is not their fault, it is ours for electing them
Now Carlos Gimenez wants to know about the fake pledges to the Miami Art Museum and the fake pledges to the Miami Science Museum. Experts claim both museums are broke. Maybe very broke. Yet these two broke museums want $275 Million in tax dollars from the County to build unneeded structures on a waterfront park. Who would pay for the operating losses?
The facts are the there IS public money planned for the Herald parking lots. The OMNI redevelopment plan, approved by the City Commission in September 2009, contains a line item of approx $10M for the Herald Square development to be paid for by the OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency. Is this the reason that the Herald has not critically reported on the theft of of the poor's redevelopment money for projects that cannot be funded elsewhere? Kudos to Commissioner Gimenez for taking a prudent look at the expenditure of public funds on non-viable projects. Maybe the City of Miami should do the same before spending $70 million of redevelopment money on the museums and $10 million on the Miami Herald.
Why does every con artist developer go to the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency and/or the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevopment Agency for a bailout? (CRA's)
Why isn't the Herald reporting on the theft/diversion of public money that should be going to reducing slum and blight and NOT to bailing out foolish property owners and foolish contract holders and broke museums?
When civilations crumble, the only thing left seems to be the art.
I hope interested parties get their acts together. I am for the arts, but shit, what the hell is going on here.
Also, I can tell you - economy is going to get worse. Government Howdy Doodeys say we are turning a corner. Adademics and real economist (not profiteers and sheep) and saying "not so."
People need to get real. Some things are going to have to wait till next pay day. Unfortunately, that might be five or ten years from now,
Nationwide and worldwide private citizens pay for art museums. Why in Miami is the public being forced to pay $300 Million to $600 Million for a no-endowment no-collection fake art museum and a no-endowment no-future science museum?
Miami-Dade County "leaders" need the courage and the intelligence to say No.
Post a Comment