2008 Woodie Awards
Take it slow
Trustees should take time to scrutinize hotel and office proposal
Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Editorial
The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees was right to delay giving President Michael Rao the authority to negotiate with land developers during Friday's special session.
The proposed project would place a six-story Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites and three to five office buildings in the Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART), located along the south end of West Campus Drive.
However, with just 23 days to examine the proposal, what other course of action was possible?
Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette proposed this project and has dealt the most with the developers.
Yet he did not educate the trustees enough for them to make a responsible decision for the next 100 years of the CART. The developers approached CMU in November, but the trustees were not given details until late April. It was puzzling that the trustees were asked to make a decision Friday.
There are several issues that Board Chairman Jeffrey Caponigro and others raised that need to be examined closer.
The amount of money CMU would lease the 12 acres of land for per year - $2,000 per acre - seems hardly fair when looking at the land's estimated $100,000-$200,000 market value.
While it is unlikely developers Lodgco Management, LLC, and Alpine Holdings, LLC, are pulling the wool over the board's eyes, Burdette was unable to explain the discrepancy when asked and said it should be revisited.
Why was the land value not looked at more closely before the proposal went before the board?
There is more than enough room for economic development in the park, and space could be filled by offering a less-than-adequate leasing price. The CART has sat largely dormant for some time.
But there is no need to rush into a project that could affect the university more than 50 years down the road.
Sure, it seems like a good idea. It may allow more students to learn outside the classroom in close vicinity to campus. The 140-room hotel may give more internship opportunities to students in the hospitality program. The office park may give students a chance to learn from professionals in technological fields. The meeting rooms would be a wonderful addition for faculty.
The proposed project would place a six-story Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites and three to five office buildings in the Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART), located along the south end of West Campus Drive.
However, with just 23 days to examine the proposal, what other course of action was possible?
Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette proposed this project and has dealt the most with the developers.
Yet he did not educate the trustees enough for them to make a responsible decision for the next 100 years of the CART. The developers approached CMU in November, but the trustees were not given details until late April. It was puzzling that the trustees were asked to make a decision Friday.
There are several issues that Board Chairman Jeffrey Caponigro and others raised that need to be examined closer.
The amount of money CMU would lease the 12 acres of land for per year - $2,000 per acre - seems hardly fair when looking at the land's estimated $100,000-$200,000 market value.
While it is unlikely developers Lodgco Management, LLC, and Alpine Holdings, LLC, are pulling the wool over the board's eyes, Burdette was unable to explain the discrepancy when asked and said it should be revisited.
Why was the land value not looked at more closely before the proposal went before the board?
There is more than enough room for economic development in the park, and space could be filled by offering a less-than-adequate leasing price. The CART has sat largely dormant for some time.
But there is no need to rush into a project that could affect the university more than 50 years down the road.
Sure, it seems like a good idea. It may allow more students to learn outside the classroom in close vicinity to campus. The 140-room hotel may give more internship opportunities to students in the hospitality program. The office park may give students a chance to learn from professionals in technological fields. The meeting rooms would be a wonderful addition for faculty.
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Taxpayer
posted 5/21/08 @ 12:33 PM EST
If the school has known about the hotel since November, it shows how ineffective the trustees are in their authority or ability to take charge. They should have been approached immeditately. (Continued…)
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