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$6.3M dose of cold reality: Troy Transit Center sits empty amid dispute. Lauren Abdel-Razzaq The Detroit News March 19, 2014. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140319/METRO02/303190036/-6-3M-dose-cold-reality-Troy-Transit-Center-sits-empty-amid-dispute. Locked!.
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$6.3M dose of cold reality: Troy Transit Center sits empty amid dispute Lauren Abdel-Razzaq The Detroit News March 19, 2014 http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140319/METRO02/303190036/-6-3M-dose-cold-reality-Troy-Transit-Center-sits-empty-amid-dispute
Locked! • Troy— Months after construction was completed on Troy’s new multimodal transit center, passengers hoping to catch a train at the $6.3 million facility are still out in the cold. • The transit center was born in controversy and continues to be a headache for Troy years after the City Council approved federal funds to build it. • The center, which was completed last fall behind a shopping center near Maple and Coolidge Highway, remains closed to commuters because, according to a judge’s ruling, the city does not own the land upon which it was built.
Does not benefit commuters • Commuters using the Amtrak train must use a freestanding shelter on the other side of the train tracks in Birmingham. • Riders on SMART bus lines 465 and 475 also have to wait in freestanding shelters along Maple Road, according to the suburban bus service. • “It’s a shame people have to stand outside in the cold when there is a perfectly good building across the tracks,” said Troy Mayor Dane Slater.
Who controls? • The city is committed to gaining control of the land, which the judge ruled belongs to developer Grand/Sakwa Properties, the owner of the Midtown Square shopping center surrounding the transit center. • Last month, Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman dismissed the city’s lawsuit against Grand/Sakwa, affirming the developer’s ownership of the land. It’s the latest setback for the city, which has been trying for more than 13 years to open a transit center on the site. • Troy partnered with Birmingham on the transit project in 2000, when Grand/Sakwa donated the land with the condition that the money for the transit center be secured by 2010. Birmingham later backed out.
How much is the land worth? • The city secured an $8.4 million federal grant, but the developer says the money was not acquired before the deadline, meaning the land reverted back to the developer. • In the lawsuit, the city offered to pay Grand/Sakwa $550,000 for the 2.7-acre site. That amount comes from a 2010 appraisal of the land that was completed before the transit center was built. • In a response filed in court, Grand/Sakwa says its concerns go beyond how much the land is worth. • The developer says Troy has not provided the “resources necessary to properly operate and maintain” the transit center.
The Economics $ Rent No improvement • What gives a land parcel value? • Characteristics • Size • Configuration • Proximity to users • Transportation access • Originally related to downtown, but applies anywhere. Improved 0 Distance
What could happen to taxes? The Economics $ Rent No improvement • What gives a land parcel value? • Characteristics • Size • Configuration • Proximity to users • Transportation access • Originally related to downtown, but applies anywhere. Improved 0 Distance
Withdrawal Deadline – Sunday, March 23 • You CANNOT withdraw after that.