Gov. Scott, Quint Studer, Matt Gaetz, and the Apartments on the Old PNJ property

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2016/04/13/studer-edate-secured-scotts-signature/82981174/

Looks like nearly $600,000 in taxes, through 2025, will not be paid by Studer.

No.....taxes are paid, but they are applied to the parking garage costs. This is an appropriate use as it is revitalizing the downtown. I am a 25% partner in an industrial park near an airport in Illinois. We developed the industrial park 20 years ago with capital from the partners. At one time there were over three hundred employees in the park with the various industrial buildings. Two years ago the municipality passed the same kind of tax increment bonds which are paid from the taxes toward the costs a developer defers. Well this industrial park is not in a depressed area, but a booming area, yet the municipality paid for a study which declared that four of our empty lots were eligible to be in a tax increment financing district. Well to make a long story short.....we could defer a million dollars of taxes and put a parking structure on the property, and yes the tax base would go up, but these tax increment funding are meant for revitalizing.....not a new area in cornfields......our park is inappropriate but downtown Pensacola is entirely appropriate.....Mr. Studer is simply utilizing a method to finance the project, and the taxpayers twenty years from now will be the beneficiary of the higher assessed value, but immediately benefit from the economic activity and rooftops downtown.....win win.

My question involves this section of the article. With your experience perhaps you can explain.

"Now secured, the EDATEs from the city and the county will preclude Studer from having to pay $597,025 in annual property taxes until they expire in 2025. Studer will still continue to pay more than $500,000 in taxes to the Escambia County School Board, Downtown Improvement Board and others."

Comment from Mark Herbert:

"The ironic thing is the VERY SAME tax dollars he is discounted are the ones that would be used to pay for the Baseball Stadium since his project is in the CRA. The CRA has already shifted Gallery Night and the Pelican Drop the DIB which is ending both due to budget issues. In addition, the CRA has shifted 322,000 dollars of its budget along with employees to the City in order to cover the debt.

SO... truth be told, the CRA is broke because of the Baseball Park and remains broke because of deals like this. AND.... at the end of the day Apartment Complexes are not what EDATEs are for. I am not sure it even qualifies... yet no one in Pensacola cares about the law."

****

It might not look so sleazy if he was building property for sale, but he's not. It's a personal cash cow for Quint Studer, and almost a $600,000 heist from Pensacola taxpayers.

So there a liberal goes again, capitalism is a nasty bad word right FT?

Floridatexan wrote:
Comment from Mark Herbert:

"The ironic thing is the VERY SAME tax dollars he is discounted are the ones that would be used to pay for the Baseball Stadium since his project is in the CRA. The CRA has already shifted Gallery Night and the Pelican Drop the DIB which is ending both due to budget issues. In addition, the CRA has shifted 322,000 dollars of its budget along with employees to the City in order to cover the debt.

SO... truth be told, the CRA is broke because of the Baseball Park and remains broke because of deals like this. AND.... at the end of the day Apartment Complexes are not what EDATEs are for. I am not sure it even qualifies... yet no one in Pensacola cares about the law."

****

It might not look so sleazy if he was building property for sale, but he's not.  It's a personal cash cow for Quint Studer, and almost a $600,000 heist from Pensacola taxpayers.

Someone was trying to tell me the other day....the condo/ apartments to be built on the old PNJ property ..would be low income housing. Good grief. ..is that what Studer is circulating?

The condos are for the most part spoken for and are not low income. Studer and the term low income is like oil and water.

Tax increment financing is taking the appreciated value of real estate taxes and rather than that appreciated portion of a new tax bill from the development going to taxing bodies, it goes to service the bonds on some part of a development.....again the taxes are paid, but are used to service the debt on the parking garage. The taxpayers lose NOTHING, because if the development does not happen,or it does happen they get the same amount of revenues as if the old PNJ site was vacant. Government is betting on long term economic growth, and my review of the project is that it is a home run just like the baseball stadium.....Studer jealous is an epidemic in Pensacola.....every town in America would love to have his foresight and ability to improve their city. Every Urban area in America is looking for new residential development in their downtown as this drives economic growth and quality of life for central business districts. Pensacola again does not lose on penny of tax dollars......it is as if the PNJ site is vacant, but in twenty years after the Parking structure is paid, the taxing bodies hit the jackpot......the schools gain immediately.

2seaoat wrote:Tax increment financing is taking the appreciated value of real estate taxes and rather than that appreciated portion of a new tax bill from the development going to taxing bodies, it goes to service the bonds on some part of a development.....again the taxes are paid, but are used to service the debt on the parking garage.  The taxpayers lose NOTHING, because if the development does not happen,or it does happen they get the same amount of revenues as if the old PNJ site was vacant.  Government is betting on long term economic growth, and my review of the project is that it is a home run just like the baseball stadium.....Studer jealous is an epidemic in Pensacola.....every town in America would love to have his foresight and ability to improve their city.  Every Urban area in America is looking for new residential development in their downtown as this drives economic growth and quality of life for central business districts.  Pensacola again does not lose on penny of tax dollars......it is as if the PNJ site is vacant, but in twenty years after the Parking structure is paid, the taxing bodies hit the jackpot......the schools gain immediately.

I think Studer has done great things in and for Pensacola. I was never of the mindset that he was ruining anything or taking advantage. He has a good business mind and the money to make things better.

As I've stated in the past, my only angst about the city of Pensacola gaining so much is how the County and it's citizens are ignored. It's like stepping from opulence to despair.

2seaoat wrote:Tax increment financing is taking the appreciated value of real estate taxes and rather than that appreciated portion of a new tax bill from the development going to taxing bodies, it goes to service the bonds on some part of a development.....again the taxes are paid, but are used to service the debt on the parking garage.  The taxpayers lose NOTHING, because if the development does not happen,or it does happen they get the same amount of revenues as if the old PNJ site was vacant.  Government is betting on long term economic growth, and my review of the project is that it is a home run just like the baseball stadium.....Studer jealous is an epidemic in Pensacola.....every town in America would love to have his foresight and ability to improve their city.  Every Urban area in America is looking for new residential development in their downtown as this drives economic growth and quality of life for central business districts.  Pensacola again does not lose on penny of tax dollars......it is as if the PNJ site is vacant, but in twenty years after the Parking structure is paid, the taxing bodies hit the jackpot......the schools gain immediately.

The PNJ moved out to accommodate Studer's plan. So far, no one has addressed the question I keep asking: Why is Studer getting a break on this development when it's RENTAL housing? I have worked on numerous developments/projects, both here and in Houston...and my husband worked on Studer's house at PB, among many others. He told me about the encounter with Studer...didn't even acknowledge his presence...couldn't be bothered with the niceties...and his reformed alcoholic schtick...oh, please!

SheWrites wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Tax increment financing is taking the appreciated value of real estate taxes and rather than that appreciated portion of a new tax bill from the development going to taxing bodies, it goes to service the bonds on some part of a development.....again the taxes are paid, but are used to service the debt on the parking garage.  The taxpayers lose NOTHING, because if the development does not happen,or it does happen they get the same amount of revenues as if the old PNJ site was vacant.  Government is betting on long term economic growth, and my review of the project is that it is a home run just like the baseball stadium.....Studer jealous is an epidemic in Pensacola.....every town in America would love to have his foresight and ability to improve their city.  Every Urban area in America is looking for new residential development in their downtown as this drives economic growth and quality of life for central business districts.  Pensacola again does not lose on penny of tax dollars......it is as if the PNJ site is vacant, but in twenty years after the Parking structure is paid, the taxing bodies hit the jackpot......the schools gain immediately.

I think Studer has done great things in and for Pensacola. I was never of the mindset that he was ruining anything or taking advantage. He has a good business mind and the money to make things better.

As I've stated in the past, my only angst about the city of Pensacola gaining so much is how the County and it's citizens are ignored. It's like stepping from opulence to despair.

The complainers are the ones who said the ball park and team would fail. They have been against studer 100% of the time. Why? Their hand isn't in the pot of money he is bringing in, plain and simple. If the Ole Pensacola crowd was getting a cut, then there would be silence. Studer is light years ahead of the Ole Pensacola crowd. Gallery Night died for two reasons, it happens when most shops are closed downtown and don't benefit from the revenue and that is jealousy. Two, the Gallery Night bars want to reap the benefits of Gallery Night, but don't want to pony up the money required to keep it going. That's hypocrisy. I think it costs 8500 per Gallery Night to keep it going (security, clean up etc). The bars don't care because they are making a nice profit to start. One night per month doesn't add a lot to their bottom line overall.

What? wrote:

SheWrites wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Tax increment financing is taking the appreciated value of real estate taxes and rather than that appreciated portion of a new tax bill from the development going to taxing bodies, it goes to service the bonds on some part of a development.....again the taxes are paid, but are used to service the debt on the parking garage.  The taxpayers lose NOTHING, because if the development does not happen,or it does happen they get the same amount of revenues as if the old PNJ site was vacant.  Government is betting on long term economic growth, and my review of the project is that it is a home run just like the baseball stadium.....Studer jealous is an epidemic in Pensacola.....every town in America would love to have his foresight and ability to improve their city.  Every Urban area in America is looking for new residential development in their downtown as this drives economic growth and quality of life for central business districts.  Pensacola again does not lose on penny of tax dollars......it is as if the PNJ site is vacant, but in twenty years after the Parking structure is paid, the taxing bodies hit the jackpot......the schools gain immediately.

I think Studer has done great things in and for Pensacola.  I was never of the mindset that he was ruining anything or taking advantage.  He has a good business mind and the money to make things better.  

As I've stated in the past, my only angst about the city of Pensacola gaining so much is how the County and it's citizens are ignored.  It's like stepping from opulence to despair.  

The complainers are the ones who said the ball park and team would fail. They have been against studer 100% of the time. Why? Their hand isn't in the pot of money he is bringing in, plain and simple. If the Ole Pensacola crowd was getting a cut, then there would be silence. Studer is light years ahead of the Ole Pensacola crowd. Gallery Night died for two reasons, it happens when most shops are closed downtown and don't benefit from the revenue and that is jealousy. Two, the Gallery Night bars want to reap the benefits of Gallery Night, but don't want to pony up the money required to keep it going. That's hypocrisy.

Have you not been to a Gallery Night? All the stores are open. The spokesman for Gallery Night and also the DIB have said Gallery Night has served it's purpose. People are frequenting the downtown area like never before. It's a cost they do not have to continue.