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Dear Editor:
Carmel taxpayers are being asked to back a 112 percent increase in the subsidy provided to developers of the Proscenium apartment-retail-office complex under construction on Range Line Road.
The city council approved $8 million for the project in 2015 and added $4.5 million in 2017. Another $4.5 million request is now on the table.
Material and labor cost increases are to blame, according to the developer. Those costs increased from 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent, according to industry surveys.
Whatever the case, construction didn’t begin until 2018 and is still going on. Another $4.5 million bite seems inevitable.
The Carmel Redevelopment Commission, which oversaw a 46 percent cost overrun on the Hotel Carmichael project, is overseeing the Proscenium project. Neither the commission nor the developer provided detailed cost records to support either the original request or the two $4.5 million add-ons.
Nor have other major construction projects in the Indianapolis area reported 112 percent increases. Only in Carmel where the pickings are sweetest.
Bill Shaffer
Carmel
Let’s not forget before this irresponsible development commenced the unknown Ohio based developer was “gifted” over $4,000,000.00 of land by Carmel council for the wink wink nudge nudge price of $50,500.00 along with an initial $8,000,000.00 line of credit.
Carmel also bought that land for $3.5M and sold it to the developer for $200K. A friend of mine was willing to buy the land for $2.5M at the tax sale but got outbid by the Carmel Redevelmont Commission before he was able to bid. He was also willing to develope the land with No City Subsidies. This is a real example of how Brainard waste taxpayer money.