City Newspaper Archives - 2/2007
DOWNTOWN: Midtown drama continues
Published by Mary Anna Towler on Feb 14, 2007
The fate of Midtown Plaza is still up in the air. The city's option to buy the complex expires tonight, and city officials say they don't plan to exercise it.
Officials at Riedman Properties have been negotiating with Blackacre, Midtown's owners, to extend the option. But Riedman, which hopes to develop an Italian market in part of the complex, needed a longer extension than Blackacre was willing to give, city spokesperson Gary Walker said this morning.
Riedman is still negotiating with officials in the Italian province of Parma, who would be involved in the market, and Riedman needed more time to put its development together, said Walker.
The city had considered buying Midtown so that it could have some control over the future of that crucial downtown property. And the Italian market is an attractive possibility. But that deal isn't sealed yet. Without it, the city risked investing millions of dollars to buy the property and maintain it, with no future use firmed up.
"There's always risk," said Walker, "and the city isn't afraid of risk." But, he said: "The mayor did not have enough information to say there was a strong likelihood of a deal going through. What we had in our hand didn't warrant risking taxpayer money."
"This deal may well go through," Walker said. It's still possible that Riedman and Blackacre could agree today on an extension. But, said Walker, the negotiations are between Riedman and Blackacre.
