Mayor Yvonne Johnson, along with Guilford County Commission chair Skip Alston, Community Foundation president Walker Sanders, and a representative from the school board, will fly to Washington this week to lobby elected officials for federal money for an education-based redevelopment project at the corner of South Elm and Lee.

The request for $15 million will be made to Senators Burr and Hagan, and to Reps. Coble and Watt.

The group will be flown to DC at no tax-payer expense by developer Roy Carroll, says Johnson.

Comments

[DW]

The city council will soon be considering whether to adopt downtown design guidelines. Mr. Carroll opposes them strenuously. As a developer, Mr. Carroll is likely to ask the council to hear his future rezoning requests.

Resourceful fellow, Mr. Carroll.

[Kim]

It's a shame we don't have that empty Wachovia building any more. I really miss it. If the council can not approve zoning based on its merits, we can replace them.

[Ed Cone]

Separate issues. Shooting the Wachovia white elephant with a slight taxpayer assist was a good thing.

Questioning downtown guidelines could be good or bad -- depends on the specifics, and the amount of flexibility.

And flying a bunch of elected officials to DC, even for a good cause, has to raise questions about relationships. Which is why it's good that we know about it.

[Kim]

I'm all for full disclosure.

[Sue]

Any word on the project itself? Or is this only about the intrigue?

I'm for full disclosure as well; it's been made. Roy Carroll is paying for the flight. What about the project? Anyone care?

[Kim]

I have heard talk of a new Guilford County School Admin. building. Hard to justify when teachers are being let go, so could be something else.

[DW]

Questioning the downtown guidelines is great -- something like that shouldn't ever be undertaken without a robust discussion.

But Mr. Carroll isn't discussing them. He has refused to discuss them with the group that put them together (which included other downtown developers).

Now he is ingratiating himself with the public officials who make decisions about the guidelines and his business by paying their way on public business. I think that's highly inappropriate.

If the DC trip is worth doing, it should be done on the city's and county's dime. If it isn't, don't go.

[glenwoodobserver]

The project, as previously defined, is to consolidate all of the Guilford County School Administration buildings into one location and pay for the development (whole or in part, I'm not sure) by selling the land on which the current building on Eugene sits. There are two areas to develop - the SE and SW corners of Lee and S. Elm. On the other corner is a proposal for mixed-use development of condos, townhouses, retail, and one would hope....a grocery store (but that's just my wish).

I don't like that Roy Carroll and folks singlehandedly got the hearings for the downtown design guidelines delayed until July 13 when they had the same, if not more, time to review these guidelines as anyone else. It doesn't look right for him to be footing the flight bill while at the same time threatening to walk away from his North State Chevrolet development.

[Ed Cone]

The schools project is meant to include a Center for Excellence in Education, which is, um, I'm not sure what it is.

Recession won't last forever, and a consolidated HQ for GCS might be a good thing -- certainly it would be nice to deuglify that corner of Fisher Park occupied by the present HQ while putting something useful at S Elm and Lee.

Not good if Carroll is just obstructionist on downtown guidelines. That, too, deserves discussion. Earlier thread here.

[Kim]

Why are you suprised that someone like Mr. Carrol would act in his own best interests? It is his capital (kahunas) on the line.

[Wesley Mouch]

Please let my inner cynic be wrong. Please let us not hear of Roy Carroll benefiting from this deal by something like getting his hands on the current GCS property or by exercising some option on property neighboring the Elm/Lee project. Please let the quid pro quo be something with some semblance of decency, like a rejection of the downtown design guidelines.

[Kim]

When it comes to developers, it pats to be cynical.

[Kim]

excuse me...pays to be cynical

[Fec the Terrible]

Recession won't last forever.

I can't believe a fellow doomer could be so sanguine.