Thursday, August 9, 2012

Is the Riverplace developer about to go under?

A story I just saw in the IBJ about the developer of Riverplace, the giant flop of a multi-use development on 96th Street next to the White River, documents how Centre Properties is struggling and facing foreclosure on some of its properties, including one in Fishers on 96th just east of I-69.

Readers will remember from my earlier post about how this giant development, touted as the new gateway to Fishers by town council president Scott Faultless, has never gotten off the ground.  Never one to admit a mistake, Faultless is spending $8.6 million in taxpayer dollars to make the intersection of 96th and Allisonville even worse, with the boondoggle called a "Michigan left". 

This news story makes it even more unlikely that Riverplace will ever be built, kind of like the water park on State Road 37 that got foreclosed on, the subject of a future post.  So why are taxpayers funding $8.6 million for road "improvements" for a busted development??? 

I don't know who the contractors are for this mess, but one has to wonder if they were contributors to Faultless and Company.  Wouldn't surprise me. 


Monday, July 16, 2012

Riverplace and 96th and Allisonville

What a lot of people think is Fishers' Biggest Flop is the entire mess at 96th and Allisonville.  But it takes a bit of history to explain.

For many years, a developer, Centre Properties, has been trying to get permission from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to fill in part of the White River flood plan just north of the 96th Street bridge.  Residents north and south of 96th along the river opposed the permit, fearing increased flooding.  For years, DNR turned down the permit, so the development went no where. 

Suddenly, about 2007, the DNR reverses itself and approves the permit.  If memory serves, this was not long after former Fishers Town Council member Charlie White (yes, THAT Charlie White) went to work for DNR.  Now, I am not saying that Charlie had anything to do with that, but it seems a large coincidence.

So then, the developer asks for Town Council approval for its grandiose and supposed $500 million dollar mixed-use project with condos, stores, and commercial uses.  And the Town Council approves it, despite near-total opposition by residents and testimony by both Fishers and Indy transportation people that the development would make an already horrible intersection even worse.  Councilman David George, a civil engineer, voted against it.  A news article about the approval is here.

Well, apparently the staff in Fishers was worried enough about massive traffic jams that they had to come up with something.  And they did.  Its called a "Michigan Left".  What that means, astonishingly enough, is that YOU CAN'T TURN LEFT AT THIS INTERSECTION any more.  What you do is turn RIGHT, then make a U-Turn, AGAINST ONCOMING TRAFFIC (maybe with a light), and then go right, the direction you wanted to go anyway.

I am no traffic engineer, but this seems to defy common sense, especially at rush hour.  Traffic wanting to go left against rush hour traffic will have to make a right turn, change 3 lanes immediately, then U-turn against rush hour traffic.  Without a light, impossible.  WITH a light, almost impossible.  Have you seen how FAR rush hour traffic backs up there?  And with thousands of more cars with a half-billion dollar development, WHERE DO THEY ALL GO??? 

Fortunately, Riverplace seems a bust, so far.  It was to have opened years ago, and nothing has been done there.  It is a huge vacant lot overrun with weeds.  So it is not adding to the massive traffic headaches at 96th and Allisonville.

Worse, Fishers is carrying the whole load financially for this "improvement".  Indy is paying nada.  They gave approval for their side of the county line on condition that they not have to pay anything.  The estimated costs are over $8.6 million.  A diagram and more info on this nightmare on the Town's website is here.

And who wants to live, work and shop next to TWO sewer plants and the smelly White River anyway?

This is not only the Town Council's fault.  The developer has a lot sunk in this, foolishly.  But we have now sunk millions of taxpayer dollars into making a bad situation worse.

I rate this:

FISHERS FLOP #1. 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Now on social media

Wow, I seem to have gotten a lot of attention in just one day.  Created a Facebook account, http://www.facebook.com/fishers.flops?sk=wall, I have 8 friends already, and a Twitter account, @FishersFlops.

And a local blogger, LarryInFishers, (webpage http://larryinfishers.com/Home_Page.html; Twitter @LarryInFishers) tweeted about my first blog post!

Now, how to get the word out better?  Hmmmm.  Any suggestions, contact me on Facebook.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Welcome to Fishers Famous Flops

Fishers, Indiana is a pretty nice place to live, with nice people, and great schools.  But it could be better.  The "leadership" of the Town of Fishers, under Town Council President Scott Faultless, leaves a lot to be desired. 

This blog, which could also be called "Faultless Famous Flops", will be about some of those failures of leadership.  These include developments opposed by neighbors, wastes of taxpayer money, approvals of failed developments of everything from strip malls to water parks, and so on.

Why this blog?  Most people pay little attention to what goes on.  I pay enough attention to know more than most, and I don't like some of what I see.  I want to share what I see and know with fellow Fishers residents. 

There will be a lot of stuff in here about Mr. Faultless and his style of "leadership".  Examples?  If someone bucks him, he gets insulting, demeaning, and threatens retaliation.  Civil disagreement is not his style... in private anyway.  He is famous for polticial cronyism, appointing those who back him to boards and such.  He shuts out anyone who disagrees with him.  He is the unelected "mayor" of Fishers, a "town" with no elected mayor, who only had a 1-vote majority on the Town Council to keep his job. 

His "style" has led to waste, mismanagement, ghost employment, and poltical purges.  But most people don't see it.  I hope to help with that. 

I hope to post at least once a week.  If you live or work in Fishers, feel free to follow what I post.  I also hope to cross-post this eventually in social media, stay tuned for announcements on that.  Feel free to suggest this to friends who live in Fishers, I hope it will open some eyes.