City can’t afford to keep waiting for developer

The clock is ticking.
For each day that goes by and the former Chalmers
knitting mill stands at the end of Bridge Street, the cost
to raze the building gets higher.
A year ago, we implored the city’s Common Council
to vote against giving developer Uri Kaufman a oneyear
option to convert the long-abandoned property
into apartments. Today, as we are approaching the
deadline that council members voted to give Kaufman,
there is talk of extending the deal.
It has been pointed out by officials who support giving
Kaufman this opportunity that the city won’t lose
the $1.42 million earmarked for the demolition in 2006
through the Restore New York Communities initiative
program. What’s not being mentioned is that the city
will have to cover the difference between the final cost
of the demolition and what was put aside more than
two years ago. No one has explained how the city will
come up with additional money that is estimated to be
at least half a million dollars.
Give Kaufman another year, and you might as well
give him 100.
We’re not as impressed by Kaufman as some city
officials are, nor do we believe he has met all the criteria
that would enable him to extend his agreement
with the city. We know Mayor Ann Thane doesn’t
agree with our position, but we hope council members
will.
A vibrant apartment building with market-based
rental units would be a great thing for the city and the
South Side. Knock the Chalmers mill down and sell the
cleared property to a developer. Grant writer Nick
Zabawsky said the city has attracted interest from two
potential investors to build a hotel across from the
mill. If that’s the case, why can’t we attract developers
to build a new apartment complex on prime riverfront
property?
There are too many facets of this project that don’t
make sense for the city — from HUD backing
Kaufman’s mortgager to his plan of pricing rents substantially
higher than the project’s marketing study
recommends.
We also don’t understand why remediation on the
property that was supposed to have been completed by
the city a long time ago hasn’t even started yet.
The city has plenty of other vacant properties it can
give Kaufman the opportunity to develop.