Development deal for Vancouver waterfront near closing

[Chief]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/01/development_deal_for_vancouver.html

Posted by The Oregonian

January 29, 2008 14:47PM

Tualatin-based Gramor Corp. and a consortium of investors are expected to close a deal this week to purchase the former Boise Cascade Corp. mill property in Vancouver next to the Columbia River.

Gramor plans to transform the 29-acre site into a mix of housing, offices and restaurants, perhaps even exceeding the transformation of Vancouver's waterfront on the upriver side of the Interstate Bridge.

David Copenhaver, Gramor vice president of development, told Port of Vancouver commissioners last week that the investment group wanted the closing to take place last Thursday. Obstacles prevented that, Copenhaver told the commissioners, and the new closing date was planned for today.

However, Boise spokeswoman Karen Punch said the closing is now expected Thursday.

Last week, the Port commissioners approved extending a lease agreement with Gramor's group for a small Port-owned land parcel next to the 29 acres.

Columbia Waterfront Inc., the investor consortium headed by Gramor, faces several obstacles. Chief among them: Getting millions of dollars out of government to build roads, sewers and other basics on the bare patch of land.

Gramor announced Aug. 1, 2006, that it had reached an agreement with Boise to purchase the mill property. The sale price is not yet known.

Since that time, a demolition crew has removed all buildings on the site.

In December, the city of Salem announced that developers Larry Tokarski and Dan Berrey paid $7.25 million to buy 13 acres near the city's core. Offices, shops and residences are envisioned on that former mill site along downtown Salem's riverfront.

-- Allan Brettman; allanbrettman@news.oregonian


This has to close on Thursday or the extension that Gramor has with the Port of Vancouver will be null and void.

Still developing, and we don't yet know enough about this to figure out what is really going on....but I think gramor is stalling for time.

[Waterbuffalo]

And why would Gramor or its other name stall for time? Don't understand that one..

[Chief]

And why would Gramor or its other name stall for time? Don't understand that one..

Possibly to stave off announcing failure till the last possible second.

Again, I do not see how this sale can close if there is no Development agreement in place with the City of Vancouver, and the City doesn't have the money they need for that agreement, or they would have signed it already.

I don't see why there is this big hoopla over this project when the deal simply is not done yet. This story is reporting that the deal is ready to close, and at this late date I would certainly hope it was ready; so why the delay?? The excuses I hear offered up for why this is taking so long are cryptic at best, and evasive at worst. I've been asking a lot of people a lot of direct questions about this, and I am getting few direct answers. I understnad that City Council members cannot comment on confidential real estate matters, but I can't even get a comment on background. The Port of Vancouver is also being uncharacteristically silent about this whole matter.

Still developing, and the next 48 hours will tell the tale...

:cool:

[Waterbuffalo]

When you have a huge development like this Chief, don't you think officials at several levels are going to keep their mouths shut?

Not sure I'd be yapping my flapper off if this deal is near its ending point and its still hanging from a thread of yes or no..

48 hours and counting down..

[Chief]

When you have a huge development like this Chief, don't you think officials at several levels are going to keep their mouths shut?

Not sure I'd be yapping my flapper off if this deal is near its ending point and its still hanging from a thread of yes or no..

48 hours and counting down..

That's my point though. City Council has not agreed to fund this project yet, and they must do so in public. Some of the Council members that I have talked to about this have professed surprize at the article, and suspicion about the veracity, for the very reasons I cite.

The City of Vancouver is to be a major player financially in this project, and there has been no discussion in public of exactly how much the City is willing to contribute; ergo, how does Gramor intend to close without any of what I just mentioned?

Granted, there are specific aspects of this deal that City Council is legally entitled to discuss in private during Executive Session; and there are other aspects of this that must be discusssed with the Public as well.

I do not trust these announcements by Gramor, via the columbian. These articles were all show, and no substance, because as of this morning, Thursday, January 31, 2008, Gramor has about 18 hours to close before their current agreenent with the Port of Vancouver expires.

To date, the Port has been nothing but accomodating to this project, all in the interests of forwarding the West Vancouver Freight Access Project. The Port is well underway with their end of things, but they are the only ones who are...the rest of this deal still has not closed.

Developing..

[Chief]

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.....

[Waterbuffalo]

:-) Do I need to cut the wires to your claymore Chief?

Honestly, may be it might be a better idea that this project just folds into the sunset. It will be too bad if Gramor pulls out and BC has to redo the bidding all over again.

They were discussing how to raise Millions to pay for the Gang Task Force.....

[Chief]

Still no word, so I am assuming that the closing did not occur yesterday. You can bet your bottom dollar that if it had, the columbian would have put it up as breaking news...

Right now, all I know for certain is that the Port's portion of this, the land exchange for the WVFAP, did take place yesterday; and a good thing that it did, because it had a time deadline attached. The rest of the deal did not, and I suspect that Gramor still has not filled the funding gaps.

Now if the City is leading them along by the nose with the promise that they will look for Federal and State grants, as the Oregonian has reported, then the closing may be delayed until the City gets some indication about their grant applications.

But consider the bad news we are consistently hearing out of DC and Olympia about budget shortfalls, and figure the odds that either of those sources will come through in the amounts that the City has to be asking for.

I know one thing, City Council doesn't dare ask the taxpayers to back this one...

Still developing....I'll massage a few more contacts today and see what i can turn up...

[Waterbuffalo]

"But consider the bad news we are consistently hearing out of DC and Olympia about budget shortfalls, and figure the odds that either of those sources will come through in the amounts that the City has to be asking for.

I know one thing, City Council doesn't dare ask the taxpayers to back this one..."

Honestly, after what I was seeing from the president on trimming political and democratic initiative spending, is DOA at the Federal Level, unless they know some thing or there is solid connections with funding behind them some where.

There isn't any more gold to mine in the Political hills of Olympia or DC as you said. The mine has run out and the cut backs are going to begin.

[Chief]

Exactly WB...essentially the City is asking for Federal and State grant money on behalf of a private development consortium. I don't see what grounds there are to award grant money to this kind of project.

And besides, the City of Vancouver has been a frequent visitor to the grant well over the years for everything you can name from ADA sidewalk curb cuts for the neighborhood associations, to grants for the Historic reserve. You name the project over the past ten years, and there has likely been some sort of grant money attached to it.

I still want to see the details of this deal. There are a lot of unanswered questions hanging on this...

[Waterbuffalo]

Only way your going to see that type of information is from the developers or some city insider.

Don't honestly see where any of this Money is coming from but I can say that eventually Herr Mayor will be stepping down soon enough and how is this penchant for money going to continue to flow? Don't think its going to happen unless Dan runs for mayor.. (with previous experience in helping get the same type of deals from back East and the Far Cold North..)

Not even sure that Mark Brown is going to be able to help in all of this..