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Just plain dishonest by Roch Smith-Greensboro blogger . 6:31 AM I like the idea of a performing arts center downtown, I don't like that the location at the top of the list of the citizens' task force (the YWCA site) is being rejected in favor of another location and justified with suspect explanations. Start with the math: The City says the proposed site, while $10 million more costly than the YWCA site, will offer more income from 250 VIP parking spaces. Their published projections assumed those would be 100% occupied at each event and that there would be 180 events per year -- a figure they originally attributed to a consultant's study. That was false. The consultant's study, as the City now admits, anticipated 149 events per year. The City explains the "error" by saying they "blended" (their word) the consultant's number with a projection of 220 events made by city staff. That 220, however, includes 50 rehearsal and load-in days, events for which there will be no audiences to pay for VIP parking. Can we not, as a City, approach this decision with honesty? If this parking revenue falls short, taxpayers will be on the hook to make up the shortfall. That's not all. Not included in the City's calculations of "increased" parking revenue at the proposed site are things that will deduct from that revenue: 1. Loss of revenues from the property taxes currently collected on those properties when they become public property. 2. Loss of revenues from the city-owned parking spaces currently on that block. 3. I'm not sure, but I can't seem to find that their calculations include demolition of the buildings on the property. 4. The cost of tearing down the War Memorial Stadium (which the City relies on in their projections to force events to the new GPAC). Finally, who are the stockholders of the corporate entities from which the City will be buying the properties? Council agenda items often include detail about the people behind the corporations with whom the City is being asked to do business. There is no such list attached to the proposal to purchase the corporate-owned properties at the proposed location.

Well, no kidding...That's how the vast majority of donations for these type of projects are dispersed. The point of this particular matter is that using a conservative 10% return on the total assets of the foundation, it would take 83 years to payout the $5 million dollar pledge. One can assume that GPAC would end up looking like War Memorial Auditorium by that time. I would be suspect of the probability of this outfit coming through with what they have pledged should be met with a healthy dose of skepticism. The other major pledgers seem to have the track record & wherewithal to come through with their commitments. I mean the Bryan Foundation which is one of the most flush foundations in town is only ponying up what maybe a million. There is a lot of questions coming up from various Greensboro citizens wanting some kind of enforceable validation that the entities that are "pledging" money toward the GPAC will in fact be contractually bound to come up with the money to fulfill their promise. There's a good number of people who are wondering whether this project will end up like the Civil Rights Museum that once it gets built will be coming back to the City to beg for money to pull them out of major deficient spending, by having a business plan that is not based on any kind of economic reality. To think that traveling shows will bypass Durham for Greensboro on their way to Charlotte is asinine. The two predominant affluent metro areas in NC are the Triangle & Charlotte. To think that those shows will choose a city that requires the majority of their core audience to drive over an hour from both directions is laughable.

This donation seems fraught with unanswered questions. Namely how a foundation with around $600,000 in total assets can make a pledge of $5 million. Unless the $5 million can be released within a relatively short timeframe, namely to be applied to paying for the thing, it would not appear to be much good. Per usual, the News & Record does no independent analysis, (AKA, Reporting) to vet this stuff, but rather just performs the function of a publisher of press release. Secondly, some people have said that its articles of incorporation preclude it from funding organizations like GPAC because they are not deemed a charity, but rather a facility that will be owned by the City of Greensboro. Mr. Hartzman may strike some as a gadfly, but he certainly appears to be very adept at uncovering multitudes of extremely inconvenient truths on this subject as well as other civic topics in Greensboro. http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/gpac-toleo-foundation-donation-questions.html http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2013/08/another-bogus-donation-to-gpac.html