C.R. council’s real estate plan off-base

It looks like the City Council, especially the mayor, wants to give a million-dollar piece of real estate to a for-profit corporation again. Recall a few mayors ago that the city purchased land parcels and gave other upfront incentives totaling about $1 million so Hy-Vee would keep a grocery store downtown. I also note that this mayor and her compatriots were not re-elected.

Now we have a council buying land downtown to relocate city infrastructures. Based on these land costs, I would guess that a block of Second Avenue land is worth in the neighborhood of $1 million and that the “air rights” for building across the avenue are worth something, too (based on the Crowne Plaza Hotel air rights). So why is the council giving this away when it claims to be helping the little man? And if it succeeds in this corporate give-a-way, I can only remind them that history has a way of repeating itself.

Juergen Bruckner

Cedar Rapids