Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Breaking News Dean's Downtown Deal Is Dead
Posted by Stephen George on Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 1:08 PM
What a strange coincidence: On the day media billionaire and truth-bending D-bag Rupert Murdoch took a shaving-cream pie to the face, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean ends up with egg all over his.
Now that the city and tech company IQT Inc. have officially parted ways in the downtown deal that could be considered the mayor's second-biggest never-was (Pith has to go with the mystical "fairgrounds redevelopment plan" as No. 1), the mayor, his economic development team and all those tech-savvy Nashvillians waiting in line for call-center jobs can shed a few tears in the proverbial beer.
Dean — with a little help from The Tennessean — sold his bid to bring the firm's 900-person call center to Second and KVB as a major victory for the forces of Deanisian Negotiation amid a never-ending recession. Here was the lede from 1100's front-page, three-story package on June 10, the morning after the supposed deal was announced:
When Mayor Karl Dean sat down to lunch on April 20 with two top executives of IQT Inc., he brought along a famous music magazine to help make his pitch for the company to move here.The publication was Rolling Stone, which had recently written that Nashville has America's best music scene.
"From my point of view, I described why Nashville is such a dynamic city and why it would be a good place for them to be," Dean said. "And how receptive we are to having technology-based companies that are attractive to young people as employees."
The mayor's efforts, along with promises of financial incentives by his office, state officials and others, paid off when IQT announced Thursday that it plans to create about 900 jobs in downtown Nashville, where it will establish its U.S. headquarters and build a customer relationship and technical services center.
The move to C.B. Ragland Co.'s 45,000-square-foot building at 300 Second Ave. S. — and another 15,000 square feet in the nearby XO Communications building at 105 Molloy St. — would be one of the biggest corporate relocations to downtown in Music City's history.
Someone give the mayor a towel when you see him.
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
Let's play this game. Here's how a Scene article on the downtown condo market published three years ago begins:
The Seduction
High-rise condos are sprouting up all over town, betting on Nashville's pursuit of cool
by Tracy Moore | August 21, 2008
A humid breeze hits with a damp gust as you waltz toward the rooftop pool, which holds the blinding gleam of an automobile showroom. Just beyond a row of crisp South Beach lounge chairs lies a kingly view of the skyline.
Trees in swollen stone pots sway lazily to hip-hop beats that thump from speakers disguised as stones. Flanking either side of you are cabana grilling stations and sizzling fire pits. Back inside, a bar, pool table and flashing flat-screens guard plush seating for you and your closest friends.
With little stretch of the imagination, you're already picturing yourself here with the friends, the job, the money and the sex appeal to match. You are young, sophisticated, aesthetically blessed and elegantly draped in white linen, a smart cocktail in your bronzed, well-moisturized hand. You're wildly successful, well-traveled and highly cultured. You know the choice restaurants, the right bottles of wine, your foie gras from your fricassee.
This view isn't courtesy of a Manhattan penthouse or a Hollywood Hills mansion. It's at the ICON in The Gulch, atop Nashville's largest high-rise condominium.
Welcome to the new Nashville skyline: It's frighteningly high, undeniably modern and so...money. It's no Nashville you've ever seen, because it's every bit an image straight out of Miami or Los Angeles—or at least a show set there. And it's not just the ICON pimping this Metropolitan Home snapshot. Other high-rises with velvet-rope names like Velocity, Terrazzo, Encore! and Rhythm promise exclusive living, stunning views and anointed lifestyles.
It's every decadent desire you've ever imagined—and a lot of bam and bling you haven't—all just a key fob and an elevator ride away.
like
dislikeDean is embarrassed for deciding to NOT go through with a bad deal? Is there anything at all that this idiot blog actually likes?
@PersonWhoIsNotMe: There seems to be a difference in writing about buildings that have literally already been built and lavishing praise upon a public official for bringing to town a company that has no deal in place to actually come here.
@JasonSP: What's embarrassing for Dean is announcing a deal like this before having anything signed. You'll note that his office has been emphatic about that fact in the wake of this disastrous turn.
The downtown bug is gonna get ya, the downtown bug is gonna get ya, the downtown bug is gonna git you, TONIGHT!
What makes me smile is not that the mayor took one in the shorts for crowing about a low paying call center, its that he used it show show that his Nashville (downtown, his castle) was just as good as Franklin/Brentwood/Cool Springs at pulling in "headquarters" type jobs.
Remember the glow on his face as well and his neourbanista supporters who knew this announcement would not have come without the MCC? Now this deal is staining the sheets and yet another story about the employment practices of Nashville's largest public property is starting right up thanks to Channel 4 (not the Tennessean since they donated money to get the MCC built and would not want to see it fail).
@notstephengeorge: Furthermore, you've quoted an excerpt completely out of context. The whole story calls into question whether Nashville can support the condos, and just exactly what it is they're selling. For instance, from further in the story:
"For now, that promise will have to be enough. Not only is Nashville a city that goes to sleep at night, but the factors that drive downtown migration—congestion, traffic and expensive parking—don't apply here, where you can hit the road and run into cow pastures in under 20 minutes. We have no real grasp of the killer commute that traps drivers in other cities. And you can still find room enough for a family of four in a centrally located neighborhood for less than $200,000.
'Nashville is one of the least urban cities in America,' says Schaefer. 'Nashville is so suburban that people think of Hillsboro Village as a primary district—a pedestrian district. Hillsboro Village is great, but it's one street for two blocks. I'm not sure that even counts as a district. We don't have a lot of urban cues in this city. I think buyers from other cities who have become accustomed to a pedestrian lifestyle, or to living in districts that have all the services they want within a short distance from their front door, are much more willing to consider urban living.' "
So what exactly is your point?
My point is that anyone who works in the public eye will have a few they'd like to take back. Stephen George ought to consider that before he smugly dumps on a couple of reporters who generally do good work. It's not because he's smarter or better that no one chronicles his missteps. It's just that no one bothers.
But back to "The Seduction." If you read that article in its entirety -- published eight months into a recession caused by the bursting of the real estate bubble -- and thought it was a cautionary tale, you need a class in reading comprehension.
@notstephen & @stillnotstephen: We're all really glad you or the person for whom you're a conduit survived Gannett's first round of bloodletting. Best of luck with Round 2!
