Tt post jun 10, 2016 - a

"At what point do we collectively call it a day on that parcel of land?"

Easy answer. June 8, 2016.

R.I.P. all those grand plans for the Marina District. Closure. Fine. Move on. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars gone.

Clearly, this land could have been made into a park 15 years ago.

June 10, 2016 Blade story:

“There is no other demand for that property today,” Mr. Reichle said.

Obviously, that statement was applicable in 2001. But I was snookered by a new plan every two or three years. I should have listened to GuestZero back in 2005.

I take great pleasure in theorizing that the following trends have determined why the "Marina Project" is just not going to happen:

• Businesses expect higher levels of corporate welfare every year.
• Toledo's politicians are vicious, inept or immature.
• Toledo's economy is collapsing.

Toledo doesn't have enough financial ability to even start the project. And those who do have the ability certainly don't want to go around spending their own money.

Remember, the wealthy stay wealthy by spending PUBLIC money, not their own.

Maybe this means riverfront property in Toledo is highly overrated. When I'm visiting downtown Ann Arbor, I never notice a river. Maybe one meanders through the town, and I'm too busy enjoying the city to notice. I don't know.

"The Mud Hens and Promedica are going to shape this city ..."

No, they are reshaping downtown Toledo.

I wish people would stop equating downtown Toledo with the entire city. I realize that people who live outside Toledo may think like that, but Toledo is over 80 square miles in size, and the downtown represents, what, maybe 2 to 4 square miles?

A park does zilch for the rest of the city. If one of the Marina District dreams had been realized, then Toledo benefits from the tax revenue. And the city needs more revenue from projects like this and not by increasing taxes and illegal fees on a shrinking tax base. Toledo's population continues to decline by over 1,000 people per year.

I want Toledo to quadruple the water rates for the outlying communities.

The Mud Hens and ProMedica are reshaping downtown Toledo. "Non-profits." That seems like an indictment on the unhealthiness of Toledo's economy.

June 10, 2016 Blade story:

... there is a reason it has not been developed and it had to do with demand and the economics of doing a development of that scale ...

That statement might apply to more than the Marina District land.

If it was decided back in 2001 to make the Marina District land a park, at least by now, any trees and shrubs planted back then might be tall enough to knock down the wind and provide a little shade from the sun.

That's a big open space down there when you factor in the wide Maumee River. It might take a generation before we can enjoy it as a real park. Start planting pine trees now. That land might be better served as a wind farm. Downtown turbines.

If the new park contains an outdoor ice skating rink that's open in the evenings and a cross-country skiing loop (embrace winter), people are going to get pounded when it's windy until wind breaks are developed.

Or forget the woody plants and manage it as a prairie. That's even better. We have enough parks with trees. We need more prairie habitat. A downtown prairie. That would be unique.

Make that land a river of Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, Tall Coreopsis, Wild Bergamot, Sawtooth Sunflower, Black-eyed Susan, Purple Coneflower, New England Aster, etc.

It's still possible that some kind of commercial development will occur at the Marina District land.

ProMedica plans to buy 69 of the 128 acres. What will happen with the other 50-plus acres? Will it be more park space or some other development, eventually?

I might try to raise the money to buy the rest of the Marina District. Then I will install a few of these to monitor things.

Anyway, good discussion. The Toledo area is a fun place to live. Enjoy the weekend with its variable weather.