Driscoll, Destiny wage war of words
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Staff reports
Destiny USA is shaping up to be the defining issue of the Syracuse mayoral campaign.
With two media polls showing a too-close-to-call race between Democratic incumbent Matt Driscoll and Republican challenger Joanie Mahoney, Driscoll went on the offensive Thursday.
He challenged Destiny USA developer Robert Congel to use its city-approved financing plan to expand the Carousel Center mall, or do nothing and watch the mall drop onto the tax rolls in January.
"They have two choices," Driscoll said at a City Hall news conference. "One, they can start building now, with the permits that have been issued and the Deutsche Bank loan that's been approved and protects the interests of the taxpayers, or the mall will go back on the property tax rolls Jan. 1. The choices are Bob's to make."
Destiny executives said they have a third option: Use a different financing package that combines a private loan from Citigroup and bonds issued by the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency. Michael Lorenz, Destiny's chief executive officer, dismissed the mayor's threat as political maneuvering.
Mahoney, for her part, decried Driscoll's tactics. "It is shameful he is using a project like this for crass political reasons," she said.
At issue: differing interpretations of the ordinance that grants a 30-year tax exemption to Carousel Center. The city says the project will be eligible for the tax exemption only if the developers build at least 800,000 square feet of leasable space and finance it privately. That amount of new retail space should generate enough sales tax revenues to offset the loss of property taxes, the city says.
According to the developer, the mall expansion is just the first phase of huge retail, entertainment and hotel complex to be known as Destiny USA.
The role of City Hall
The city and Destiny developers have been going back and forth over whether the financing plan meets the requirements of the ordinance.
In a letter delivered to Destiny Tuesday, the city's consultant, Clough Harbour & Associates, said some elements of the $375 million expansion of Carousel Center are under-budgeted and other elements are not in the budget at all. The consultant asked Destiny to provide more information before it could pass judgment on the financing plan.
That provoked a stinging response from Destiny.
"Unfortunately, it appears Mayor Driscoll's strategy is to filibuster the project so he doesn't have to make a decision while he is running for re-election," said David Aitken, a Destiny executive. "Instead, his administration is trying to kill us with the death of a thousand cuts by asking question after question."
Driscoll's folks replied that they'd stop asking if Destiny would start answering.
About that deadline
Destiny took issue with Driscoll's end-of-the-year deadline for expiration of Carousel's existing payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement. The developer points to a document from 1995 that appears to give Nov. 15, 2007, as the date the city would transfer ownership of Carousel Center to the developer. (The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency holds title to the property as a condition of the tax exemption.)
City Hall points to a schedule of tax payments that starts in 1990, when the mall opened, and ends in 2005. When the PILOT payments end, so does the PILOT, the city asserts.
Candidate No. 3 weighs in
Meanwhile, Green Party mayoral candidate Howie Hawkins thinks Syracuse can do better than Destiny USA. Monday, Hawkins unveiled a redevelopment plan called "Sustainable Syracuse."
Hawkins' proposal calls for a series of steps designed to make the city more energy efficient and attractive to new businesses, creating thousands of jobs that he said would pay better than those envisioned by the developers of Destiny USA.
Among those steps would be to re-dig the Erie Canal through Syracuse, restore Onondaga Creek to a more natural setting, and create a network of park-like "greenway" corridors with walkways, bike trails and light-rail transportation.
Poll watch
A poll commissioned by WSYR television and radio showed 57 percent of likely voters want to see Destiny USA built. That mirrored the findings of The Post-Standard poll, in which nearly 60 percent of respondents said they want Destiny to go forward.
Summit at Savannah Dhu
This weekend, Destiny USA invited about 70 students from Central New York colleges to Congel's Savannah Dhu conference center/hunting lodge in Savannah, Wayne County.
They are there for a summit focusing on the opportunity for the "new" New Orleans to be the showcase for the next generation of cities, incorporating technological advances to improve health and quality of life for residents.
The event was sponsored by Destiny, Syracuse University and the National Chamber Foundation.
Job watch
Destiny hired 60 more workers Monday at $60,000 salaries, bringing to 120 the number of people hired for the project in the past five weeks. Destiny officials said the rapid hiring makes the company the fastest-growing in Syracuse. Another 60 people are scheduled to be hired Nov. 7.
To submit a question, please call Larry Dietrich at 470-3126, fax 470-2142 or send e-mail to business@syracuse.com.
© 2005 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.
Posted by syracusegreens at October 30, 2005 07:57 PM