Questionable Value

The Indian Trail downtown project has recently had a value quoted as $140,000,000 dollars. Some are very upset that this project is stalled due to what appears to be major road issues. Not to mention all the other previous stuff that some think is more of an issue than it really is. So the question is ...What is the value of the downtown project to the town and the citizens that would venture to downtown? Does this project represent the one and only, the project that will make or break the town? Will it provide enough revenue to the town to keep the tax rate low for others? Strictly looking at the numbers I believe the answer is no. Would the revenue from the project be good, absolutely...beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Sales tax: the state collects the sales taxes then doles them out to each town based on a formula which the town has no control over. I believe the number that appears in the proposed budget is nothng more than an educated estimate. It is subject to change. So Indian Trail receives the benefit from the sales tax say from Walmart whether Walmart is in our borders or not. Same as the revenue from beer and wine sales. Though Indian Trail does not have a LBTD ordinance, the town still partakes in the taxes it produces elsewhere. I believe the number was $75,000. To put that number in perspective, the town of Matthews (LBTD and all the restaurants) brought to their coffers $150,000 for the year. The $75,000 represents for IT basically one officers salary. The value of the Downtown project $140,000,000 is a projection...and has to be projected out about 2-5 years. The project won't go up over night and the value will only be reached if completed and fully occupied, and well maintained. The $140,000,000 number has been attributed to a developer belief. There is no easy way of telling how much sales could be generated from this project to the town. The only thing the town has control over and the number they know for sure is the ad valorem taxes or property taxes. Based on the current $.10 tax rate that project would add to the town $140,000. (2 officers) If the tax rate is raised to the proposed $0.175 cents that would produce $245,000 dollars if my math is correct. Roughly what a one cent increase would produce. A major hurdle facing this project is roads. We have only 2 lanes that can service this road currently. The price tag to widen this road or build another road (one way road proposed by Larry Helms) is $8 million dollars. Based on the above numbers it would take 32 + years to generate enough money to pay for the road based on what the project pays the town. Its simple math, I was shocked when I saw it. Some would have you believe that the town should forget any road improvements and let the project move on. That however is shortsided and just plain stupid. The downtown has an overlay district, standards for that area is more restrictive than anywhere else in the town. A good thing the previous council passed.
Bottom line as I have said in the past. There are no easy fixes for road problems with this project or other projects facing similar road obstructions. In the end, the town is better off for seeking road improvements..not to mention, if you let one get away with special consideration, whats to stop the next development from asking for the same?

COME ON TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

So it appears that the Dr and Transworld Med have made a run for the border. The South Carolina border that is and if correct, Charleston to be exact. Obviously blaming the delay in construction in the downtown project as a mitigating factor for his departure. Apparently, the state of South Carolina enticed him more than staying near home. I have heard millions of dollars were being offered to him and the company, I am wondering how much the state of North Carolina and Union County offered him? I know the town of Indian Trail did not have that kind of financial pull, but did offer him their endorsement of the idea of him locating in the town.
It is a shame for the town of Indian Trail that the project has been mired in a quagmire of road issues. I know of 3 traffic studies done by the developer and apparently none have met the standards of DOT nor the town.
How does this change the downtown project and Indian Trail? Well, the tech jobs that would have been associated with Transworld Med are gone. The school locating there is probably lost especially without Transworld. That just leaves the project as approved by the previous council with a 79% residential and 21% commercial breakdown. A little over a 1,000,000 sq ft of commercial/retail. This is the same project as was passed by the previous council. Yes it is a shame that Transworld Med didn't work out..but until last fall, no one knew anything about them and this project. You see, they were just tenants in the overall project...the project was only broken into commercial/retail and residential..with some possible town buildings. The project was never approved with Transworld in mind or the school of nursing. In my opinion, the project has not changed from the date it was approved. I still believe that in order for this project to be a success, it will need Liquor by the drink in the town, and roads that allow people to get to the site. The size of this project precludes it from any simple, easy, or cheap answers. Those that are looking for those types of answers are doing the town and its citizens a disservice.

DOWNTOWN PROJECT SOOO SLOOOW

There have been a group of people very insistent on the fact that the Downtown Project is moving too slowly. They seem to blame the current Council for a project and conditions that the previous Council voted to approve. Take whatever side you want for the time spent on the recusal motion made by the developer against a councilmember. The subsequent bias brought against the Mayor. Not to mention the town fighting for the 100 year flood rules to make sure citizens down stream were not adversely affected. So what is the problem? Why is it taking so long to get the thing started and finished?
1. You have to understand that projects of this size carry long lead times. Austin Village was approved long before land started to be cleared. Its been almost two years and the project at Fincher and Potter still not showing any movement. There are more examples, but the point is just because the project has been approved, doesn't mean construction will start the very next day. Projects like the Downtown Project have a two year window for a start date from approval the way I understand it. Please, check for yourself I'am going off of memory here.

2. The developer himself stated that if all were cleared to go, the project was still 2 years away.

3. The Downtown Project was passed I believe in February of 2005. The previous council attached 44 conditions upon the project so that it could be completed.

4. July 2006 some 17 months later...the developer asked for conditions to be eased and the Planning Board heard the case.

5. August/September 2006- The council was to hear the case but the developer asked for the recusal of Councilmember Schallenkamp. The delay from the council involvement begins.

6. The council I believe agreed to most of the conditions that were presented to them except for primarily 2 or 3. The 100 yr flood restrictions...that provided some delay. The problem solved by involvement on both sides, and in the end, the developer didn't have to worry about CSX and its 18 month delay with no guarantees. Rather the problem was fixed with the reflecting pond.

7. Looking through the files...the big issue causing the biggest delay and headache is the road/traffic situation. Primarily, the construction of this project with current road conditions will make the roads totally impassable. Most intersections rating F/F-. If I understood the paperwork...the requirements call for the improvements to raise the level to a C. A big chore considering only 2 lanes of traffic and a railroad so close to the project.

8. Just for giggles, throw in the Sewer/Water permits...which I believe the state has stopped until Union county gets some capacity...not to happen until late 2007/early 2008...depending on when the state signs off on the expansion of 12mile Creek.

Questions arise from the above:
1. What was going on those 17 months that nothing seemingly took place? Is that the standard delay for a project? Was the project delayed by the original 44 conditions placed on it by the previous council? It is the right of the developer to bring the project back and ask for easing of conditions, but is it prudent to challenge the governing body that way? You can attract more with honey....
2. Did the CSX approval delay the project?
3. How bad are the roads and transportation in that area? Wouldn't it have been more prudent pending the approval to have a traffic study in hand prior to approval?
4. Why was the Medical tennants brought up in the first place? The tennants have nothing to do with the project...not under the control of the town unless the percentages are out of standards that the project was passed under.
5. Does the delay of the potential land swap/building of town hall/ the road to South Fork all play into the delay?

As much as the more vocal group of citizens would like you to believe that somehow the council is preventing this project from going forward, my opinion is that is just not the truth. There are a lot of issues slowing this project. Looking at the file, my opinion is that the overall major slow down of this project is Indian Trail Road, the capacity, the current congestion and the size of the project itself. Not to metion the lack of traditional roads in a grid system of roads. Its all about the roads right now and unfortunately there are no silver bullets that will magically fix the situation.