Chalk up another subsidy to Portland transit-oriented development. TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, bought a piece of land next to a light-rail station for $907,000. It is selling it to a non-profit group for $300,000 on the condition that the group builds a high-density project.
The project will actually be built by Walsh Construction, a company owned by Tom Walsh and his family. Tom is a member of Neil Goldschmidt’s light-rail mafia. They campaigned together for city council when Neil first ran for that office (Neil won, Tom lost), and years later Neil scored Tom the job of general manager for TriMet. From that position, he handed out all sorts of subsidies for transit-oriented developments, many of which were built by his family’s company.
Neil Goldschmidt is disgraced and out of power, but his legacy of subsidies and favored contractors lives on.
From the linked article: TriMet estimates 30 years of transit fares generated by the project to be worth $602,000.
Gee, $600k in fares is about $3,000k in additional public money for the subsidies to pay for Trimet’s wasteful transit. What a deal for the public:
Give away $600k in land value to assume a burden of $3 million in tax subsidies.
Such a deal. One that only a planner could love.
Thanks
JK
Remember too that this property will go to a non-profit so no property tax revenue will flow from it. This forgone property tax revenue is likely larger than the fares that will (might) be collected by Tri-Met.
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But that wont stop them from saying “look at all the development that the light rail line caused along Interstate”.
Watche the paper in 2-3 years for that quote to appear.