• Twitter
  • Facebook
News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Building blocks

A couple of dispatches from the economic-development front. The city could get a new hotel near Glenbrook:

Despite the challenging economy, a 6-million dollar hotel could be coming to the Glenbrook Mall area in Fort Wayne.

A Valparaiso-based company wants to situate an 89-room Towneplace Suites hotel next to an ice rink facility that's slated to be constructed over the summer months.

Do you understand what's going on here? A company believes an ice rink will draw people and decides to take a chance that it can capitalize on that traffic and make a profit, too. That's called private enterprise, for those who have forgotten how it used to work.

Not that there isn't a role for government in economic planning, you understand:

But the Commission denied Balbir and Amrik LLC's proposal for a gas station/convenience store at Hanna and Pontiac streets - one of eight stations proposed so far this year - agreeing with some area residents that the intersection is already too congested. But developers have also questioned whether planners objected because of the city's development plan for the southeast-side, which stresses the attraction of other businesses, including groceries and pharmacies. In fact, planners opposed Bluffton-based National Oil Co.'s proposed station at South Anthony Boulevard and Antoinette Street for that very reason, and the proposal is on hold.

Planners have also said some southeast-side gas stations have attracted crime and other undesirable activity.

Sorry, you filthy capitalist swine -- the city has its own plans for that part of town.

An intersection that's too congested -- isn't that bad planning and a failure by the city? And gas stations attract "crime and other undesirable activity"? Isn't that admitting to future failure -- the city's inability to do anything about the crime and other undesirable activity? Sorry, no gas station for you!

The commission, by the way, "routinely approved" a gas station for Lima and Dupont roads and one on Maplecrest Road. No pesky traffic there, no sir! And they have so darn few gas stations on the north side -- better approve some more quick so the south side doesn't get even further ahead.

Comments

Bob G.
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 10:14am

Leo:
Interesting thing about Glenbrook Mall...they're looking for BUYERS (as in we might have to belly up and go bankrupt)...
And this "plan" might be the shot in the arm it needs to remain viable.

But it's not like lightning could strike TWICE in this city (sfter seeing SOUTHTOWN MALL go under...right?

And you have to admit that there IS a lot more crime in the SE section that up north around Dupont & Lima roads (even if you DO count the numbnuts that can't drive there...lol)

Hey, I'm all for capitalism, but when you ONLY have a K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and assorted DOLLAR stores (in between the liquor stores) to shop at...well, who in their right mind would settle into an area of ANY city that places store personnel at risk, or closes a shop due top robberies and theft, right?

(but that's just *my* opinion...from living down here,,,and watching it all happen. It's not about "location", but the PEOPLE AT the location...let's mention THAT, OK?)

Michael B-P
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 11:35am

Call me grossly simplistic and totally cynical, but from what I've seen around here Planning follows Development follows money. Moreover, it's easier for planning officials (as is true for most people) to get their undies in a wad over a convenience store in a "high crime neighborhood" than it is for them to assimilate the details and then objectively assess the long-term impacts of larger and more capital intensive development projects like the proposed hotel, particularly in the face of political pressures to "do something" about the disruption of a "good times" revenue stream like government has had until recently. And sure: seizing opportunity, risk-taking, and making money are the hallmarks of capitalist creativity; as have been its local byproducts of pollution, suburban development at the expense of urban decay, and eminent domain.

Quantcast