Steelyard Commons, though? We beg Bentonville to send us their poverty-wage, social benefit-sucking jobs (something Cleveland definitely can't afford) while we neglect the potential that's available locally. Read the Wal-Mart Factchecker and decide if you think those are the kind of jobs that will help out the poorest big city in America.
Locally-owned Dave's Supermarket will probably suffer the most, which seems unfair in light of everything they've given back to Cleveland. Who built a brand new market in (Cleveland neighborhood) Ohio City when no one else would? Dave's. And now, Wal-Mart's going to undercut their prices in an attempt to annihilate the competition, probably wounding the historic West Side Market, too. Are you going to be able to buy Ohio City Pasta or Hungarian garlic sausage at Wal-Mart?
Remember this, Clevelanders, when you save the price equivalent of a double latte or a gallon of SUV guzzle-gas by grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Your money's going to Arkansas, not staying here. In February, when City Council passed anti-big box legislation, they were attempting to encourage positive development such as the Wolstein Flats project, instead of molding the historic Cleveland steelyards into a replica of every Wal-Mart supercenter parking lot nationwide.
And even as the mayor proclaims no public money will be allocated to the Wal-Mart project, guess what? She's lying as usual.
Say hello to our little friend, tax increment financing, or "TIF." From Bill Callahan's blog:
"TIF" is a development tax subsidy that's a second cousin to tax abatement. The developer/property owner has to pay the regular tax rate on the new value created by the development, but the revenue doesn't go to schools and city services — it gets diverted into a special fund for "public enhancements" to the project itself.
Neighborhood revitalization and taking care of city services is so much more important than one more Wal-Mart. My neighborhood is a perfect example. Our local public school is on the Triple-B Hit List (Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Cleveland schools CEO and sleazy tax avoider). Many of our neighbors are policemen, firemen and city employees (due to the "work for Cleveland, live in Cleveland" law). In other words, the people who take care of the rest of us. How do we repay them? By laying off as many as possible (then sneakily bringing some back when it becomes a political nightmare), and by funneling obscure tax breaks to projects that will benefit Bensonville, AR more than Berea, Brooklyn or Bedford. [Cleveland-area cities].
Article comments
1 - Matt
On the other hand, I see the Flats proposal as putting city money in the developer's pocket and providing nothing to the residents of the city, while WalMart will provide jobs (maybe not the best jobs, but jobs) and lower priced merchandise, raising the standard of living for everyone. Having WalMart will help the Steelyard Commons survive. The Flats development will disappear within 10 years.
Making Kamm's Corners look better will not make it a shopping destination. The businesses there will do no better than they are now.
2 - Shannon
The Flats proposal will create construction jobs during the building phase, retail jobs in the new shops, office space that will be (presumably) attractive enough to keep businesses in the city instead of moving out to the suburbs and more. That sounds pretty good to me.
I have nothing against Steelyard Commons per se -- though I favor having more locally owned businesses there, I wouldn't mind seeing something like a Costco go in. Costco pays a living wage (even you admit Wal-Mart jobs are not the best) and doesn't rely on the local social services net to cover its employees.
Kamm's loses business now because of its looks. It's run down, there's nothing to make you want to stick around (unless you like punk rocker kids and coffee that tastes like an ashtray -- sorry, Common Grounds). But it has great potential -- close to all the major highways, on bus routes, etc. Why couldn't it be the next Coventry or Madison Village?
3 - Eric Olsen
excellent information and energy Shannon, thanks! I am a classic suburban ostrich and didn't know all that much about either of these situations. I'm not sure what the answer is but I understand that it matters.
4 - Shannon
Eric, I hope you'll come to the meeting next week in Tremont, and invite the other local Blogcritics to come, too! I'd like to see as much discussion and debate as possible. Not to mention, we're all rather good at raising a fuss, no? ;)
5 - mike
how much support is there for city council reduction from 21 to 11? anyone with their finger on the pulse? please respond. thank you
6 - Eric Olsen
when's the meeting Shannon? I encourage all to go: do as I say and not as I do.
7 - Craig Lyndall
If you think the value of Wal Mart to the city of Cleveland is the jobs, you are mistaken. We aren't worried as much about Wal mart as a provider of jobs. We should be worried about them as a provider of groceries, electronics, cheap clothes and other things that Wal Mart sells.
Do you get concerned that employees at Denny's don't have good benefits as they serve you a Moons Over My Hammy?
Then why do you worry so much about Wal Mart employees instead of the 10's of thousands who will benefit from shopping there?
8 - Shannon
The meeting is Wednesday the 25th, 7 p.m. at the Treehouse in Tremont. Keep an eye on democracyguy.typepad.com or brewedfreshdaily.com for details.
And Craig, I don't worry about Wal-Mart's benefits package because I feel sorry for the poor little dears who work there. I worry about it because city after city has had their social services net plundered by Wal-Mart in the name of higher profits. The net loss to the city of Cleveland in terms of Wal-Mart employees relying on public assistance, etc to get by needs to be taken into account, too.
I've said this multiple times -- I have no problem with the Steelyard Commons project as a whole. I have a problem with Wal-Mart. Stick a Costco in there, a Home Depot...hell, put an IKEA in there, I don't care.
But Wal-Mart is bad news. Read factchecker.purpleocean.org, for example. Lower-income households tend to be disproportionately headed by women, right? So great, sign 'em up for a job at the new Wal-Mart...where they'll get paid less than men, have their hours screwed with so they never get healthcare or other benefits, never get a promotion, and qualify for the class action lawsuit against the Bensonville Mafia! Sounds fun to me.
Do you really need to save $1 on your grocery bill for that?
9 - sydney
Craig,
Thats a really short cited comment you made. Theres a stratagy behind offering low prices and undercutting the competition. It;s a complicated process and I don't know it well enough to describe it, but in the end the consumer loses with big box stores.
And the sad part is that, it isn't just the walmart consumers that loose, its the whole community.
10 - FilteringCraig
I agree with you in a lot of cases, but we are talking about a community that doesn't have many stores period. The net benefit right now is that people flee to the suburbs to shop, if not buy houses. The net benefit of keeping people and their consumer dollars within city limits is worth something too.
11 - Shannon
I'm in agreement with you there, Craig, which is why I won't come out against the development as a whole. I'd rather see more people living in the city and spending their money there, too. I just can't rationalize that selling out to Wal-Mart is the only way to make that happen.
Bring in some other national retailer who doesn't need to rely on the government to take care of their employees as an anchor store. What's so freaking special about Wal-Mart that we'll whore ourselves to them but not to Costco, or Target, or any other big store you can name?
12 - FilteringCraig
I think they all backed away. I thought Target was going to and then decided not to take a chance on Cleveland. I could be wrong.
13 - Don Kaliszewski
It's not all about Wal-Mart - it's about what the character of our hometown is and will be. If they're going to do this, demand that they open their Target under an existing rolling mill shed; demand that they build a parking structure to preserve the site instead of creating a sea of surface parking lots; demand that they integrate live/work lofts and create streetscapes like those in the warehouse district - demand great design and reject the formulaic retail program that is the lowest common denominator. Stand up for your hometown! By all means deny this:
One Happy Big-Box Wasteland
(Article from the SF Gate Linked - DFN)
14 - Dave Nalle
Please don't quote entire newspaper articles, it's a violation of copyright. Use a link. I'll fix it for you, but in the future keep it in mind.
Dave