The Winston -Salem Journal weighs in on the city’s eminent domain claim on Davis Garage for a $20 million transportation hub:
If the city doesn’t settle the matter soon, it could lose a federal transportation grant of $1.3 million to develop the property. But city officials estimate that the renovation of the hub will cost about $20 million. Mayor Allen Joines said the money will come from federal and state grants, with a local match of about $5 million. The rest of the money “will come from private sources, i.e. the developer,” he said. He said the local match would come through city funds, and possibly through a bond issue.
He indicated that the city would still like to work with Davis’ developer, Cannon. But on the chance that the city would enter into a partnership with Davis and Cannon, it would have to convince the public that these two have the right stuff for such a deal. It may be more likely that city officials will choose to go through with eminent domain. Before they do so, they should provide taxpayers with a clear plan for developing the property, including a likely developer, a breakdown of all costs and how those costs will be paid.
Based on those numbers, odds are this project never happens, which should give Harvey Davis reassurance during his battle against the city.
