9/14/11
Blog reader Anonymous has asked for background on the recent purchase of the house on Smithtown Rd.
Development of the "Smithtown Crossing" corner (the intersection of Smithtown, Country Club Rd and County 19) has been a discussion topic in the Planning Commission for a number of years. It's an item in the City's Comprehensive Plan and was the topic of a joint Council Planning Commission meeting this year.
A key to getting an overall development done rather than each lot getting developed separately is to have reasonable assurance that a potential developer could acquire the individual properties. There was a Planning Commission meeting last year in which some of the lot owners indicated willingness to cooperate with a developer.
The actual boundary of the development could extend as far as Christopher Rd along Smithtown. However, there are several private residences at this far end. One of these, near the end of the row, had been on the market for about two years, with the offering price being reduced several times. The Planning Commission indicated to Council that they supported an attempt to purchase this property to nail down the west end of the potential development area.
Details of the Council's discussions leading to the purchase are not available. These discussions were held in executive sessions and minutes, except for the attendees and what the meeting subject was, are not published.
What is known is that the City purchased a house and lot for $131,000, plus closing costs and intends to tear the house down. The lot will be left empty pending some future use. From what the Insider knows of the house, tearing it down is the only reasonable action due to its poor condition. So, the City bought a lot for something less than $150,000, all-in. Will this help future development? Nobody knows, but it won't hurt. Could the City afford it? Yes, the money was in the Infrastructure Fund ($1.8 million in this fund based on the recent budget meeting info). Was it a good deal? Probably, for such a large lot in Shorewood.
Is there any one place to find more? No. There have been numerous meetings over several years finally resulting in the City's decision to purchase.
Happy Reading!
The Insider
What I read into this is that there is a specific developer who somehow has collared Shorewood into doing a lot of the work for him, including the de facto financing of a key piece of property. Was the original news story of the property being bought to help out a possible expansion by the VFW false? So just who is this developer, and has he or she contributed to the campaigns of any of the sitting council, or does he or she have any business relationships with any of the council members?
ReplyDeleteShorewood is overwhelming a single family, low density residential city. THAT should be the concern of the council, and not convoluted and gray-area schemes and self-serving committees to aid an anonymous private commercial developer.
Nothing commercial can possibly be put in that corner that can't already be found either within Shorewood or a ten minute drive away. It would only add to congestion, noise, and stress on the infrastructure. Keep Shorewood the way it is.
if the Legion would get its act together, make a decision/commitment as to what they want to be when they grow up we probably wouldn't be in this fix. But because they can't seem to do that, I respect the City's decision to purchase the blighted property. Personally I'm tired of looking at this blighted piece of property, in addition to the Gideon Glen albatross that supposedly is the "gateway" to our community. Now that the watershed is out of the deal I can only imagine how much more unsightly it will become under City management.
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