I was talking to one of the elder statesman of the Discovery Park community the other day and he mentioned an interesting idea.
Starting with the assumption that private ownership in a public park is bad, why not have a charitable conservation group take out a mortgage on all 26 historic homes, buy them from American Eagle/Navy, and rent them out to private individuals, and pay off the mortgage over 30 years time. That way, the City (or at least this civic minded conservation group) would own the property and could set all the groundrules regarding its use. At the end of 30 years, the mortgage gets paid off and the City owns the property free and clear, allowing the City the option to 1) continue renting them out, 2) tear them down, 3) allow them to be used as community centers, artists residences, or 4) whatever use we could accept as a community.
The only fly in this ointment is ............. the 10% down payment. Say American Eagle wants $15 million for all of the homes. This would require a $1.5 million cash down payment, with $13.5 million financed over 30 years.
I haven't decided yet on what I think of this scheme, but it's interesting and should be discussed. The concept of keeping public control of all of this land is very, very appealing. A group of hostile homeowners in the Park could be very difficult. On the other hand, there are several practical obstacles. First, the down payment. Don't know the exact amount, but I think it's a very good guess that it would be well over $1 million. Second, what entitly would be interested in and take responsibility for this. Various conservation groups do this for open space (see the Evergreen Forest concept), but I don't know of one that would take this on. Are there any "Historic Conservancies"? Thirdly, is the assumption that private homeowners in the Park are bad - valid? And lastly, does the City want to make this kind of commitment?
Time will tell.
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