(Community Matters) Time to reopen the bidding for the Green Water Treatment site. It is unfair and likely unfavorable to the City of Austin and its citizens to go forward with a deal that barely represents the one won in a competitive bid process. This morning’s AAS editorial cites a lot of new facts which their article on Wed April 4 failed to note.
As noted earlier, market conditions are ripe and prices are rising. With so many changes to the deal and with performance requirements now lapsed, Austin’s City Council owes it to bidders and its citizens to re-bid the site and obtain the highest returns for this City of Austin asset (financial and housing).
btw, I note the editorial’s citation of requirement for Trammel Crow to build an underground parking garage on the site – a new condition since bidding. Hard to believe Trammel Crow would have accepted this condition without some consideration. Could this have been agreed to in exchange for extending the original rights beyond the required performance dates? If so, or for whatever consideration the responsibility was accepted, is it an inauthentic rationale for additional City of Austin concessions?
Community Matters 