Questions about The Chart House bidding process
Now that there is movement at The Chart House and Scotty's Landing property, lots of things are being said and coming out of the woodwork.
For one, we have the list of bidders for the Scotty's property, here it is. You'll notice there are five. Out of the five, only one bid on The Chart House property, that is CHLN/Landry's. They apparently bid on both properties.
Now this is where it gets tricky, because it could just be a simple clerical error, but at the bid deadline, on Friday, June 15 at 2 pm, there were no bids on The Chart House property, there were only the five bids for the Scotty's property. Then, like magic, on Monday morning, June 18, CHLN/Landry's appeared as the lone bidder for The Chart House and also Scotty's. What transpired over the weekend and how could this bid come in late?
Now it could easily have been an error and after the closure of bids on Friday and maybe the last bid was found on the floor or something and quickly added to the roster, but it brings up questions because you would assume that it would have been the first bid because on July 8, 2009, at a Waterfront Implementation meeting, there was a discussion of a "public pier," and Jeff Cantwell, the VP of The Chart House at the time, was questioning where parking lots would go and asking about other future plans for the area. He was told that the area would all go up for bid and that parking would be part of the project. He was concerned about parking being closer to the restaurant.
This could be nothing and just coincidental, that the last bid that came in -- after bidding was closed -- was from Cantwell's company, who was asking about it back in 2009 and making plans in 2009. It begs the question: If the Chart House knew in 2009 that the lease was up in 2012 and that the area was going up for bid, why did they wait until the last minute to bid and why was their bid accepted after the closing date for bidding? Things that make you go hmmm. But then again, maybe it was just a clerical error.
The whole process has been rushing through at record pace because they want to get it on November's ballot. In fact, rumblings have been going on about the Expo Center, Burn Notice's home, being knocked down in November.
There are many questions regarding the project because the Waterfront Master Plan does not include garages right next to the water or other changes that may take place on the site, there was to be pier access, too, so some committee members are concerned about changes to the plan that was years in the making.
Also, Center Grove business owners are starting to get concerned about the shift that may take place regarding the business community from Center Grove to the waterfront. There apparently was an annoying police car patrolling the Grove on a quite Saturday night last weekend, for no apparent reason. I was told by business owners that it affected business because the police car was scaring off business. When the officer was asked what he was doing, he said that he was told to patrol the area and circle the Center Grove all night. Add that to the new liquor laws, which many feel inhibits business in the Center Grove and people are asking concerning questions now. (A couple of concerned citizens spoke to Channel 10 today and that will be on the 5:30 pm news).
The bidders list is at the City's Procurement Projects site here (at the very bottom) and all the updated material is there, too.
For one, we have the list of bidders for the Scotty's property, here it is. You'll notice there are five. Out of the five, only one bid on The Chart House property, that is CHLN/Landry's. They apparently bid on both properties.
Now this is where it gets tricky, because it could just be a simple clerical error, but at the bid deadline, on Friday, June 15 at 2 pm, there were no bids on The Chart House property, there were only the five bids for the Scotty's property. Then, like magic, on Monday morning, June 18, CHLN/Landry's appeared as the lone bidder for The Chart House and also Scotty's. What transpired over the weekend and how could this bid come in late?
Now it could easily have been an error and after the closure of bids on Friday and maybe the last bid was found on the floor or something and quickly added to the roster, but it brings up questions because you would assume that it would have been the first bid because on July 8, 2009, at a Waterfront Implementation meeting, there was a discussion of a "public pier," and Jeff Cantwell, the VP of The Chart House at the time, was questioning where parking lots would go and asking about other future plans for the area. He was told that the area would all go up for bid and that parking would be part of the project. He was concerned about parking being closer to the restaurant.
This could be nothing and just coincidental, that the last bid that came in -- after bidding was closed -- was from Cantwell's company, who was asking about it back in 2009 and making plans in 2009. It begs the question: If the Chart House knew in 2009 that the lease was up in 2012 and that the area was going up for bid, why did they wait until the last minute to bid and why was their bid accepted after the closing date for bidding? Things that make you go hmmm. But then again, maybe it was just a clerical error.
The whole process has been rushing through at record pace because they want to get it on November's ballot. In fact, rumblings have been going on about the Expo Center, Burn Notice's home, being knocked down in November.
There are many questions regarding the project because the Waterfront Master Plan does not include garages right next to the water or other changes that may take place on the site, there was to be pier access, too, so some committee members are concerned about changes to the plan that was years in the making.
Also, Center Grove business owners are starting to get concerned about the shift that may take place regarding the business community from Center Grove to the waterfront. There apparently was an annoying police car patrolling the Grove on a quite Saturday night last weekend, for no apparent reason. I was told by business owners that it affected business because the police car was scaring off business. When the officer was asked what he was doing, he said that he was told to patrol the area and circle the Center Grove all night. Add that to the new liquor laws, which many feel inhibits business in the Center Grove and people are asking concerning questions now. (A couple of concerned citizens spoke to Channel 10 today and that will be on the 5:30 pm news).
The bidders list is at the City's Procurement Projects site here (at the very bottom) and all the updated material is there, too.
posted by Tom Falco at 1:45 PM
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6 Comments:
A lone (and annoying) officer patrolling the area in his car blamed for scaring off business? Lord now I've heard it all! I bet if a crime were committed and he was not around, people would be furious over the lack of police presence.
I know, it sounds crazy, but today at 5:30 on Channel 10 news, you'll see video of this and a couple of biz owners discussing it.
It's not that the car is just driving around. The cop leaves his red and blue lights flashing the entire time.
Larry David
Hey,
You know how all the Swedes in power in this town run things.
Not very Up-front.
Ran his lights for 1.5+ hours. Was working that night. I call BS on the bidding. Hocus Pocus, winning bid!?
We keep hearing the terms “Government Transparency” and “Caring For Our Community”. Many of us that live in Coconut Grove are most concerned about the changes coming to our beloved Scotty’s Landing. We know about the RFP and that there are five candidate’s that have submitted proposals. We know there are five Members and two Alternates of the Selection Committee. I requested the names of those seven individuals from Judy Marsie-Hazen Sr. Project Representative Department of Public Facilities. She referred me to Angel Zyon the Communications Director. But no names or even a web site to locate the names was provided. That is hardly the “Government Transparency” we have been promised. I sent the same request for the member names to Kathleen Mc Gregory the Miami Herald journalist covering the RFP story. The next day she was kind enough to direct me to the correct web site: http://www.miamigov.com/PublicFacilities/docs/rfp/Selection%20CommitteeMemo-Approved.pdf . Many thanks Kathleen. In looking over the seven names I did not recognize any Member or Alternant that appears to be a resident or business operator in Coconut Grove. That is also not a good indication of “Caring For Our Community”. This RFP project will have an enormous effect on Coconut Grove and no other part of Miami. I therefore strongly recommend that one or more Grove residence or business operators be included in the Selection Committee. Having Grove representation on this vital Grove issue will be of enormous benefit when advising the City Commissioners on the best choice for the Groves future. Lastly, I also suggested that any Commissioner that previously did our community a disservice by voting to subsidize the Marlins Baseball Stadium, gentrifying the Miami River and the illegal re-zoning of Mercy Hospital, recuse herself from considering any RFP vote (especially out of her district).
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