News is breaking quickly on the corner of Lee and S. Elm streets, which the City of Greensboro wants to develop so badly. Ed Cone reports that high-powered developer Roy Carroll is flying Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson, Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston and Community Foundation president Walker Sanders to Washington to talk to members of Congress about federal stimulus money, while the N&R follows up with possible interest from a Memphis consultant in building a $75 million hotel.

Of course the true anchor of any potential development is Guilford County Schools, which —if the trip goes well —– would get a new headquarters courtesy of the aforementioned stimulus money. Commenters over Cone’s are concerned about Carroll’s influence over elected officials looking at weighing downtown design guidelines— which Carroll has publicly spoken out against. By the same, token Carroll is going in his role as a board member of the Community Foundation, as is Walker Sanders — like he has no influence on elected officials —- so why shouldn’t he fly everyone free?

A couple of questions: How much would design guielines add to the cost of GCS’ new HQ, and why does anyone think a school adminstration building would attract development when the downtown baseball stadium hasn’t done so?