RFP - 201 Market

[SupercityGR]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

How do you know that's not what is proposed?  I feel like we're on a merry go round in this thread. Maybe I should just get off, lol. 

One thing I noticed in the Amazon article here locally was that they worked closely with Cascade Township on the proposal, amongst other local municipalities. I would guess that at least one of the sites they proposed was out by the airport. 

Not go get off topic. 

I know Amazon is not going to come here. But if they did and it was anywhere other then downtown it would be horrible. Another large HQ not downtown 

[GRDadof3]

45 minutes ago, mpchicago said:

Or maybe the city should have released details on the "winning" proposal.   I think we all understand that things change as the process moves forward, and what may be proposed now may change, but come on give us sharks some chum.

I do agree with that. When the city was seeking proposals for what is now UICA/Gallery, all of the proposals were made public. I've heard with 201 Market that the companies that submitted don't even get to see the other proposals. 

[scottythe1nonly]

35 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

I do agree with that. When the city was seeking proposals for what is now UICA/Gallery, all of the proposals were made public. I've heard with 201 Market that the companies that submitted don't even get to see the other proposals. 

i've been told the losing bids are sealed.  If Rockford wanted to disclose the plans they can't do it legally.  If they wanted to use the plans at another location, such as buying private property along the river somewhere else, they are forbidden from doing so until the city finalizes the 201 Market winner, which could officially take many months.  

The entire process the city put in place for this super secret committee is a mess.  this is not how public land should be sold and developed, out of site of the public.

 

 

[MJLO]

1 minute ago, scottythe1nonly said:

 The entire process the city put in place for this super secret committee is a mess.  this is not how public land should be sold and developed, out of site of the public.

I understand what you mean.  Although I also wonder if it's not all bad for them to control the process like this.  One of the things this area has become notorious for is over eager development enthusiasts and media disclosing details on potential new developments making it more difficult for prospective developers to go through initial stages.  

[ironyisadeadscene]

1 hour ago, scottythe1nonly said:

i've been told the losing bids are sealed.  If Rockford wanted to disclose the plans they can't do it legally.  If they wanted to use the plans at another location, such as buying private property along the river somewhere else, they are forbidden from doing so until the city finalizes the 201 Market winner, which could officially take many months.  

The entire process the city put in place for this super secret committee is a mess.  this is not how public land should be sold and developed, out of site of the public.

 

 

How awesome would that be?  They don't win the bid, but build it anyways elsewhere?  

[wingbert]

2 hours ago, MJLO said:

I understand what you mean.  Although I also wonder if it's not all bad for them to control the process like this.  One of the things this area has become notorious for is over eager development enthusiasts and media disclosing details on potential new developments making it more difficult for prospective developers to go through initial stages.  

Good point.  However, between the secrecy here and the secret Amazon submittal, it almost seams as though the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of non-disclosure.  The lack of information creates an information vacuum which can then be filled with all sorts of conjecture and conspiracy theories.  

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, MJLO said:

I understand what you mean.  Although I also wonder if it's not all bad for them to control the process like this.  One of the things this area has become notorious for is over eager development enthusiasts and media disclosing details on potential new developments making it more difficult for prospective developers to go through initial stages.  

Hey! We resemble that remark. LOL. I see what you're saying though.

[scottythe1nonly]

1 hour ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

How awesome would that be?  They don't win the bid, but build it anyways elsewhere?  

Probably only if the secret committee were to release their proposal so they could go elsewhere

[joeDowntown]

8 hours ago, scottythe1nonly said:

Probably only if the secret committee were to release their proposal so they could go elsewhere

I can’t imagine that if someone really wanted to move ahead at another site, there wouldn’t be enough changes to make the other proposal null and void. Just the shape and position of the lot (along with the river) should make the plan fairly site specific. If Rockford were to move ahead with a soccer stadium and apartment building (and whatever else was planned),  I doubt there’d be much holding them back. Seems like a moot point to me. 

Joe

[Dj Augustine]

In my opinion, to dislose the proposals the way the county did at 82 Ionia would dicourage bidders.  It also creates leverage for the winning bidder to retrade if they know what others bid.  Ferris bid $10,000,000 to see that Franklin Partners bid $6,000,000.  It would have been surprising if their board would have approved of the $10,000,000 price. When the county put the property back on the market, Rockford bid $7,000,000 and Franklin lowered their offer to $3,000,000.  Not a smart way to go about selling real estate.  I agree that the restrictions the city placed on the other bidders holds very little weight.  

[GRDadof3]

20 hours ago, Dj Augustine said:

In my opinion, to dislose the proposals the way the county did at 82 Ionia would dicourage bidders.  It also creates leverage for the winning bidder to retrade if they know what others bid.  Ferris bid $10,000,000 to see that Franklin Partners bid $6,000,000.  It would have been surprising if their board would have approved of the $10,000,000 price. When the county put the property back on the market, Rockford bid $7,000,000 and Franklin lowered their offer to $3,000,000.  Not a smart way to go about selling real estate.  I agree that the restrictions the city placed on the other bidders holds very little weight.  

Exactly. Plus, with the whole Daune Faust debacle, the last thing the city wants to do is publish a fancy rendering/proposal and then have it not come to fruition. The residents will think there's a bunch of flunkies running things. 

Also, someone called this a "secret committee." It's not a secret. If you really want a list of the specific people reviewing this (in addition to the consulants), I can probably find out. I know it's Kara Wood, several city commissioners, the mayor, etc.. 

[wingbert]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Exactly. Plus, with the whole Daune Faust debacle, the last thing the city wants to do is publish a fancy rendering/proposal and then have it not come to fruition. The residents will think there's a bunch of flunkies running things. 

Also, someone called this a "secret committee." It's not a secret. If you really want a list of the specific people reviewing this (in addition to the consulants), I can probably find out. I know it's Kara Wood, several city commissioners, the mayor, etc.. 

The only thing wrong with the Duane Faust plan and the way things were handled was everything.

[GRDadof3]

It was brought to my attention that the city hired a company to handle the proposals and bids, and that the companies who submitted, sent their proposals to that company and not to to the city.  And the companies who submitted had the option to keep their bid sealed and all of them chose that option. 

[Pattmost20]

12 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

It was brought to my attention that the city hired a company to handle the proposals and bids, and that the companies who submitted, sent their proposals to that company and not to to the city.  And the companies who submitted had the option to keep their bid sealed and all of them chose that option. 

But the city also made them sign an NDA, so I don't know how much they could really say if the did "unseal" their bids.

[GRDadof3]

6 hours ago, Pattmost20 said:

But the city also made them sign an NDA, so I don't know how much they could really say if the did "unseal" their bids.

True dat. Darn we have to be patient?  

[Pattmost20]

33 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

True dat. Darn we have to be patient?  

Guess so 

[scottythe1nonly]

I'm hearing that we should be seeing some local news soon regarding the 201 Market bids.    Probably specific to the Rockford bid.  

[GRDadof3]

On 12/9/2017 at 9:47 AM, scottythe1nonly said:

I'm hearing that we should be seeing some local news soon regarding the 201 Market bids.    Probably specific to the Rockford bid.  

https://mibiz.com/news/real-estate/item/25338-proposals-raise-questions-about-feasibility,-city-protocol-with-201-market-redevelopment

Just the usual politics in things like this.

[Pattmost20]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

https://mibiz.com/news/real-estate/item/25338-proposals-raise-questions-about-feasibility,-city-protocol-with-201-market-redevelopment

Just the usual politics in things like this.

I'll be excited once we get renderings that are a little more detailed than a faxed over FOIA request. It'll be interesting to see how much tax credits they dole out for this project.

[joeDowntown]

Definitely not high quality, but there are a lot of interesting things to look at in this rendering:

 

[jthrasher]

here's a higher quality version of that image.    I love the buildings in this rendering.  What I don't love is the lack of interaction with the river.   Places to stand and watch or fish aren't enough.   I was hoping for more of a promenade with shops. restaurants and cafes along the river front, not a street.

Edited December 11, 2017 by jthrasher

[egrguy]

Both of those buildings are in GR's sweet spot - 12-14 stories :).

[GRLaker]

I can accept 12-14 stories if it doesn't look like an ice cube. I actually love everything about the designs and hope they actually come to fruition. I just hope that they entail a good amount of market rate units as well as commercial - which was my main hangup previously with the initial article on the winner of the bidding war.

Edited December 11, 2017 by GRLaker

[MJLO]

I'm assuming these are just concept renderings of what "could be"?

[arcturus]

How do you put anything on a river where water levels can vary 15 - 20 feet, allow 'interaction', and still have those structures insurable?