Second and Broadway is no place for a homeless shelter. That seems to be the sentiment of Mayor Jerry Abramson, who weighed in on the controversy for the first time yesterday. He told WHAS-TV’s Chase Cain that he wants the Jefferson Community and Technical College to get the property, and that he’s still looking for an alternate location for Wayside.
And the rumor we’re hearing is that the city has helped Wayside find a new location that is near downtown and away from residences, one that might not raise objections from neighbors.
While the zoning laws for homeless shelters are unclear, the Administration says it would have some objection if Wayside started moving in today. We’re betting that it’s never going to happen.
So the scenario could play out this way: Wayside purchases the Hotel Louisville for a negotiated price that satisfies Gus Goldsmith, the primary mortgage-holder, that is well under the $10 million bid at auction. Goldsmith needs about $7 million to break even.
Wayside would then negotiate a new price with JCTC, at a more modest profit, now that the Kentucky legislature has given approval to the school to make the purchase. JCTC might, for example, have to pay in the $8 million range for the property, and it would get the property free and clear.
Some will object to seeing Wayside profit in real estate speculation, but the shelter doesn’t seem to be affected by bad public relations, and it would have more capital to spend on the new, as yet unidentified, property.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Ralph // Jun 25, 2009 at 10:30 am
the Louisville Antique Mall is for sale , right between Mercy and the hotel locations
2 Mark H (Not Hebert) // Jun 25, 2009 at 10:32 am
If this turns out to be the situation, wouldn’t this be considered a shake down at the taxpayers expense?
Has Wayside found a new funding mechanism by leveraging their non-profit status and funds to purchase properties in high-profile areas with the threat of moving in, only to than say they will sell the property and go elsewhere for a nice profit?
Come on, they do good work and it’s just taxpayer money, right? I think they should try and purchase the Actor’s Theatre Building next. I’m sure the threat of moving a homeless shelter across from the new arena could net them a healthy profit….It’s appraised at $7.5M. Offer them $10M and then wait for Jerry and Host to squirm. I’m sure for $2M profit, they would allow the State (ie taxpayers) to purchase the building back and save them the embarrassment.
I think they realized that they can use the shelter’s stigma to their financial advantage.
3 Kramer // Jun 25, 2009 at 11:04 am
If their plan is indeed to “flip” the Hotel Louisville property, it certainly seems irresponsible for Wayside to risk $10 million on this. What happens if JCC doesn’t get the money to purchase the property?
4 EdenSprings // Jun 25, 2009 at 11:35 am
I think the issue here is that Jerry’s “pretty place” downtown is not the venue for reality (i.e., homelessness). Who wants to pay thru the nose for a hotel suite and have to look out the window and see? Same ideology on the 86/64 idea: the rich folk who buy into the new highrise don’t want their million-dollar views obstructed by a commuter-clogged I-64, so let the working stiffs get re-routed.
And the best deal yet: let’s get the taxpayers to foot the bill for it all! Man, I wish I was mayor and could live in that dream world…
5 Carter Burger // Jun 25, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Why can’t they just void the bid that Wayside made and allow the JCTC folks buy it at fair market value?
6 Bruce Maples // Jun 25, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Number of points:
– I don’t begrudge Wayside making a profit, not when just a few weeks ago there was talk of throwing them out through eminent domain. If the Moseley’s can make some money AND get a new location, more power to them.
– Wayside won the bidding fair and square. JCTC didn’t get it because the state didn’t get them the money in time. Don’t blame Wayside for seeing an opportunity and grabbing it.
– Is it true that Cordish is helping Wayside build a new building on the Water Company block, called Homeless Center City Live?
7 Raoul Duke // Jun 25, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Looks to me like Wayside outsmarted everybody. If they keep the hotel, they’ll have a mission that will fulfill their mission. If it’s so objectionable that Big Head Jerry doesn’t want it on Broadway, he’s going to have to find them a place and use his quickly diminishing gravitas to sell the idea of the new location (or jam it up their asses) to the new neighbors. I’d say that Wayside has bootstrapped the sale of their other properties to people who didn’t like the mission in their neighborhood to get in a very enviable position.
Maybe Cordish will develop a mission for them, complete with sports bars and bowling alleys.
8 Gardener // Jun 25, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Don’t we all smell something? Anything that involves Gus Goldsmith should be thoroughly investigated. Partner him with the Moseleys – who, while hiding behind the mantle of “altruistic social righters of wrong” have managed to alienate all of their neighbors and strong-arm their community in the name of social welfare, all the while amassing a fortune that is said to be much larger than just the $10 million bid for the property.
What about the other bidders present at the auction? The hoteliers represented that were ready to bid are now pushed aside, essentially being told that this “legal procedure” really doesn’t mean anything unless you have struck a “deal” with Gus Goldsmith and end up paying less than the good faith bid that was accepted by the commissioner? Why aren’t those ready to bid less than $10 million given the chance to re-bid with the REAL amount of money that Wayside is willing to pay??
And what abot the other creditors that are owed in addition to Gus Goldsmith? Is the commissioner going to tell them they are just out of luck because Gus Goldsmith wants it that way? Do we once again,as a city, make up the rules as we go along?
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