Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Legislature to change where the MVET goes

This Times article is so dense with info about the future of the MVET, it's hard to pull a good quote from it.
Some of the tax may end up paying for other transit projects. That could be a result of a bill passed in the state House Tuesday, which calls for greater consolidation of transportation planning and financing in the Central Puget Sound region. The measure, House Bill 2871, also would shift part of the monorail tax to new non-monorail Seattle transit projects if the measure passes and city voters approve the change.
Go read the whole thing.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Two viaduct events

From the Mayor's Office:

What: Viaduct Open House. Discussion on the Mayor's tunnel option.
When: Thursday, March 2, 2006
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Seattle Aquarium, Pier 59, 1483 Alaskan Way

What: Tour of the Viaduct
When: Saturday, March 18, 2006
If interested in attending please RSVP at: viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.
Confirmation and event details will be forwarded.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Numbers for the land sale

From the Puget Sound Business Journal. SMP started $100M in debt.
So far, SMP has been able to repay about $21 million in debt from cash on hand -- including $10 million initially set aside to purchase the "sinking ship" parking lot in Seattle's Pioneer Square, said Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Jonathan Buchter. That leaves some $89 million still owing.

A significant portion of that debt was incurred in purchasing the 34 properties condemned by SMP along its proposed 14-mile route. SMP spent a total of $62 million acquiring its property portfolio and an additional $10 million on related expenses such as the cost of relocating tenants and property owners.
The bids will be finalized on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), so we'll see if they can turn a $72M investment into an $89M land sale. If not, us taxpayers are paying the difference.