"Fenway, Roxbury projects signaling retail resurgence" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | May 25, 2010
High-profile merchant Target Corp. and natural-foods grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. are eyeing major expansions in the Fenway, while Kohl’s Corp. is considering a smaller version of its discount department store in Roxbury — all signs of a renewed optimism in the Hub retail market....
--moree--""Home loss surging in Mass.; Rate of foreclosure jumps as lenders get used to process" by Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff | May 19, 2010
Yeah, after a while the mixed manure turns you off. I rarely make it to the business section anymore.
Heck, I rarely make it to the editorial page anymore.
Lot of Globs in the UNREAD PILE!!
More Massachusetts homeowners received foreclosure notices or lost their homes in April than they did during the same month last year, more evidence that the state’s foreclosure crisis is not near its end.
After all the months of telling us it was.
The number of homeowners who lost their properties to foreclosure in April swelled to 1,372, almost 80 percent more than during the same month last year, according to data released yesterday by Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks local real estate.
The number of foreclosure petitions — the first step in the process of a lender taking back a property — jumped to 2,431 in April, a 20.8 percent increase over April 2009, Warren Group said.
So EXPECT ANOTHER WAVE LATER!
Indeed, the first four months of 2010 found more homeowners in deep financial trouble than last year....
This after ALL the BILLIONS in AID, etc, etc, taxpayers!!!
Can you say MASSIVE GOVERNMENT FAILURE!
Yes, the BANKS KEPT YOUR BAILOUT MONEY as YOU WERE TOSSED OUT YOUR HOME!!!
The data did not surprise housing advocates, who say they are seeing more homeowners struggling to pay mortgages because they have been out of work or have fallen victim to predatory lending practices. And despite the urging of everyone from individual homeowners to President Obama, they add, lenders are still not doing enough to help solve the problem.
Don't you love that cover-story sentence?
Paul Collier, a Cambridge lawyer who works with clients fighting foreclosure, said, “You are really seeing the steady building of this foreclosure stuff and the failure of anybody in the public sector to do any intervention,’’ said Collier. “It just keeps getting worse and worse.’’
Many Massachusetts homeowners are “underwater,’’ meaning they owe more than their properties are worth, said Lisa Vinikoor, lead organizer for the nonprofit Merrimack Valley Project, which fights for social justice.
Home, s***, home!
She said some homeowners already are in foreclosure, while others are negotiating with their lenders and having no success. For those on the financial edge, the temptation to stop making payments on an underwater property can be strong.
I LIKE THAT IDEA!
F*** the LYING, LOOTING BANKS!
“The banks are unwilling to negotiate a fair mortgage,’’ Vinikoor said.
As more borrowers find themselves in trouble, lenders are shortening the time it takes to take back their homes for nonpayment, according to a new analysis by Banker & Tradesman, a Warren Group publication....
Yeah, they are REALLY HELPING OUT, huh?
I WANT MY BAILOUT MONEY BACK!!
--more--"
And look at what the city and state wants to do with YOUR TAX MONEY:
"State, city want taxpayers to aid convention hotel" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | May 7, 2010
State and city leaders want to build a 1,000-room hotel next to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a project that will cost up to $700 million and almost certainly require millions of dollars in subsidies and taxpayer-supported loans.
How about KEEPING THEM in their HOMES, first?
Officials studying how to dramatically expand the convention center said another large hotel is necessary to attract the biggest events, and that building it without taxpayers’ help would be nearly impossible.
WHY?
See: More Millionaires Than Ever
SCRAP the PROJECT!
Related: Millionaire’s slaying a family affair, US says
You can keep it in-family, Glob.
The options are still being discussed, but officials said the project could involve a combination of tax breaks, public funds for road work and other upgrades, and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt that would be partly or entirely backed by taxpayers....
You know what that is?
FINANCIAL RAPE by the state of Massachusetts!!!
When the convention center opened in 2004, the city and state increased taxes on things such as rental cars, tourist tours, and hotel rooms to help pay for construction of the $800 million South Boston facility. Officials say they will examine whether to raise those again as part of any expansion of the convention center.
Un-flipping-real!
WHERE in the WORLD did ALL THAT TAX LOOT GO?
A committee of 25 public officials and business leaders has highlighted the hotel as a critical component of such an expansion, which would be undertaken with the goal of making Boston one of the nation’s top five cities in the convention business....
What that means is the top five in tax takes for corporations.
Now put it in the VAULT, readers.
Boston officials say they recognize the demand for additional hotel rooms and the need to examine sources of public support....
Do you REALLY want YOUR MONEY going for HOTEL ROOMS instead of TEACHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, or COPS, Boston?
In the last couple years, however, officials said it has lost dozens of large events because it does not have exhibit space or adjacent hotel rooms to accommodate gatherings of many thousands of people. And the big conventions that have come to Boston have faced logistical problems.
For example, attendees of a recent insurance convention were placed in 33 hotels across the city. The event required 8,000 hotel rooms, but the convention center has only 1,100 hotel rooms within walking distance. Most attendees had to be bused back and forth to their hotels, resulting in $300,000 in additional transportation costs.
Isn't that GOOD for LOCAL BUSINESSES and the BUS COMPANIES?
Please do not tell me the STATE PAYED for THAT?!!
James Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, said the shortage of hotel rooms was also cited by several convention organizers who decided not to come to Boston, including the American Society of Safety Engineers, which required 4,000 rooms, and the National Safety Council, which required 6,500.
Related: Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Maybe you could host them sometime.
Also see: Patrick and Menino Choose Tall Ships Over Theater
They SPENT TAX MONEY on THAT?!!!
I suppose there COULD BE WORSE THINGS and HERE is ONE:
While there appears to be demand, large convention hotels are difficult to build because high construction costs make it difficult to earn the 20 to 25 percent profits demanded by private investors.
Yes, YOUR TAX MONEY is going into the PROFIT COLUMN for the "investor!"
In most cases public money is used to help defray costs through tax breaks, funds for road work or other infrastructure, and other assistance.
So that the "investor" can "make" a 25% RETURN, taxpayers!
Is that a FORECLOSURE NOTICE you just got in the MAIL?
In the last 10 years, only two hotels with more than 700 rooms have been built in the United States without public assistance, according to PiperJaffray, one of several consultants advising the convention center’s study committee. Both were in New York City.
In other parts of the country, large hotels are becoming increasingly reliant on public borrowing and subsidies. Since 1997, 15 hotels have been built with either publicly issued debt, direct funding to help with construction costs, or both. Among cities hosting those hotels are Chicago, Baltimore, San Diego, Tampa, St. Louis, and Phoenix.
YOUR GOVERNMENT SCREWING the S*** OUT of YOU, America!!!!
BUILDING HOTELS and PARTY SPOTS for the WEALTHY ELITE!
It is becoming increasingly common for convention hotels to be 100 percent publicly financed.
What, BANKS out of the BUSINESS?
These MUST BE REAL MONEY-LOSERS then, Boston!!!
Otherwise the COSTS would NOT BE FOBBED OFF on YOU so "investors" -- like banks? -- can make a 25% PROFIT!
Officials in Dallas, for example, are building a 1,000-room hotel with $480 million in government-issued bonds that will be paid off through operations of the hotel.
And if the HOTEL CAN'T COVER IT YOU WILL, taxpayers!!!!
The state is also providing tax breaks for 10 years, and the city of Dallas is guaranteeing 100 percent of the debt.
Proving their are subservient idiots everywhere.
A similar financing structure was used in 2005 to build a 1,100-room convention center hotel in Denver.
Proving their are subservient idiots everywhere.
The model works if the hotel succeeds, as it has in Denver. But
Ummm, YOU SEE THAT BUT, Boston taxpayers?
if the hotel fails, it can leave taxpayers facing a huge bill.
Just what you NEEDED, 'eh, taxpayers?
Some industry specialists warn that, with so many cities developing large hotels, demand is going to start to wane, making failures more likely.
Put a HOLD on the PROJECT!
Moreover, the US hotel market is already suffering in the down economy. Room rates in the Boston area are down 12 to 15 percent since 2007, and last week the W Hotel declared bankruptcy after just six months of operations. That breakdown came after the city of Boston had provided a $10.5 million loan to the W. Officials have said they secured enough collateral to protect against losses.
SUCKERS!!
“The construction costs of these hotels is so high that it becomes difficult to make enough revenue to pay off the debt,’’ said Michael Oshins, an associate professor at the Boston University School of Hospitality. “So there is some risk.’’
Yeah, but the agenda-pushing Globe waits until the end of the piece to tell you that!
Oshins pointed out the W’s failure was largely due to the inability to sell condominiums that were supposed to help raise enough money to pay off its debt in the near term.
Rooney said a similar failure would not occur at the convention center hotel because it would be supported by a steady stream of event traffic. He acknowledged that many other cities are also building convention hotels, but said Boston has proved it can compete for business....
Are you tired of being sold s*** promises by the state, taxpayers?
--more--"
I sure wish their record was better:
"Development agency’s troubled loans swell" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | May 10, 2010
The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency — a quasi-public agency that lends money, makes grants, and develops government property to stimulate new investment — has seen a surge in troubled loans because of the weak economy.
MassDevelopment was forced to write off $2.3 million in loan losses in fiscal year 2009, the largest amount in seven years. And more than a half-dozen of its other loans are seriously delinquent. Taxpayers provide some, but not all, of the loan money....
I do NOT WANT ANY being PROVIDED!
Also see: Those Are the (Tax) Breaks in Massachusetts
And we didn't even get the jobs, huh?
The troubled loans reflect the difficulties faced by many lenders in the wake of the crumbling housing market and high unemployment.
But the economy is improving and we have been in recovery, blah, blah, blah, blah!
Yet despite the increase in troubled loans, MassDevelopment officials said the losses so far have been less than feared, given the intensity of the economic downturn and the size of the agency’s $114 million loan portfolio. Moreover, MassDevelopment said it hasn’t been forced to cut back on new loans, which total about $40 million a year.
Like other local lenders, MassDevelopment has probably benefited from the fact that the state’s housing market and employment have been stronger than in some other parts of the country, such as California and Nevada....
PFFFFFT!!!
Such programs tend to have higher losses than banks because they are charged with trying to support economic development projects that are considered too risky for conventional lenders....
But NOT YOU, taxpayers!?
Still, MassDevelopment says taxpayers won’t necessarily bear the brunt of the losses.
Anytime I see a still I smell that smell.
In addition to funding from the Legislature, MassDevelopment also funds loans with interest it earns on successful loans and with fees for issuing tax-exempt bonds for nonprofits, manufacturers, and certain other projects....
Get your wallet out, taxpayers.
--more--"
Related: Market for office space looking up
Menino says push to bring retailers back to Back Bay is working
I'm feeling that way about the Globe.
