Comments on: The case for dumping city owned property

By: Jonathan Rubin

Jonathan Rubin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:53:02 +0000

As a developer in Trenton, who has never taken a dime from the city or state, I would have to agree with the sentiments expressed in this post. I have a lien on a valuable property which has environmental issues. The city is owed $175,000 in property taxes after my tax lien. City won’t foreclose on property due to environmental issues. City will not accept $50,000 from me for their tax lien. Owner owes the city $175,000 and me $200,000, so he has negative equity and will not sink more money in to clean up environmental issues. He therefore has not paid and will not pay property taxes. Try explaining to the idiot who run Trenton that $50,000 and steady property tax payments are better than nothing!! No body home. Primary reason is a tremendous fear/hate/resentment to any developer. Attitude is ‘if he will be making money we don’t want to let the deal happen’!!

By: Nicholas Stewart

Nicholas Stewart — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:58:50 +0000

I’m listening and hearing. I rushed to voice my opposition. I admit there exist conditions where a negative property value may be applicable. And, agree that those conditions are rather common in Trenton. While I continue to oppose “sweetheart” deals, I am willing to accept exchanging property to developers who are committed to bettering Trenton while pursuing their business interests. Regardless, all I want, as does anyone who loves Trenton, is for Trenton to move forward.
Again, thank you for your post(s).

By: patriciastewart

patriciastewart — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:57:19 +0000

Dan: I agree with you. There was a similar problem with the Roebling Mansion on West State Street; the city kept looking for, I believe, $100,000. The best offer was $80,000. It took public pressure to complete that sale. But, yes, there are properties that probably could not be given away because of negative value. PatStewart

By: admin

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:21:59 +0000

Nick,

Please do read Mr. Mallach. I obviously didn’t do a good enough job explaining why some properties have negative and zero value.

Try this: you own a house. Then the state builds a super-highway on one side of you, a trash dump on the other and an open air drug market operates on another. Might it be possible that your property has negative value?

This extreme case makes the point that negative valuations do happen. Brown fields are an obvious example. Trenton has a lot of Brown field sites.

Dan

By: Nicholas Stewart

Nicholas Stewart — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:20:00 +0000

While I don’t oppose moving forward to reduce the number of properties currently owned by the City of Trenton, I do oppose giving them away or paying other to take them.

I fully support publicly advertized auctions and negotiating with developers (developers who agree to return said property should it fail to be developed along an agreed upon timeline).

Trenton is obviously worth something. There are enough landlords and speculators holding properties idly waiting for something to happen.

Screw them. If you’re a businessman/woman and you are about your business, you will do everything you can to make a profit in Trenton. And I am not referring to squeezing a few hundred dollars a month out of drug dealers and undocumented immigrants. I am talking about business people who make investments with the intent of realizing profits from a better product than when they started. Thereby allowing them their reward for their money, time, energy, and risk taken AND for their making a contribution to the community. Trentonians win when real business men and women are involved.

Let’s work with serious business men and women only! Serious doesn’t have to mean experienced. Serious means you have a plan and you implement that plan immediately after taking possession of the property. Serious also means you are willing to disclose information pertaining to your progress, e.g. status of financing, construction timeline, status of leasing property or marketing efforts.

Since I haven’t spent any time listening to Mr. Mallach, I’ll be sure to catch myself up. For the moment, I can’t support giving anything away. I don’t think we’re that badly off. I believe that a change in the administration, alone, may elicit some much needed action in the realm of economic development.

Regardless of my feelings, thanks for another great post.

By the way, since you’re a rising star at TrentonSpace, maybe you’re reputation will enable you to gain access to our ‘new’ Acting Director of Housing and Economic Development. The two of you can put your heads together and see what the difference is. Does Mr. Jerome Harris currently write a powerful blog regarding Trenton’s strengths and weaknesses addressing how to turn Trenton’s weakness into strengths? It sure would be great if he did, we might then gain some insight into what his table of priorities will be. Next time, maybe.