Can We Take Tony Giarratana Seriously?
We’re trying to land an interview with May Town Center developer Tony Giarratana so we can ask him a simple question: Will you actually develop any part of May Town Center? Or are you just a lobbyist for Jack May?
Pith keeps hearing that the shadowy May, who owns the Bells Bend property where the proposed office, retail and residential development will be built, paid Giarratana $1.5 million up front to get the project approved. After that, Too Tall Tony (our new nickname for the over-eager developer) would walk away.
The gossip goes that May figured Giarratana had enough sway with Metro — both the Planning Department and Planning Commission -- to justify the fee.
Well, one for two isn’t bad. Too Tall somehow convinced the pointy heads at Planning that building a second downtown on a rural swath of rolling fields was a good idea. Satellite cities worked out so well for Atlanta, right?
But Too Tall flopped in his appearance last month before the Planning Commission, who deferred voting on his project. You may recall the typically charming developer lost his temper and made arguments so inane you’d think he was posting anonymously on Tennessean.com. My favorite was when he claimed that residents with the most property should have more of a voice in what gets built in their backyard.
Anyhow, we’re not here to talk about the past, but to raise a question or two: If Too Tall is just a lobbyist, should we trust him when he is making promises about May Town? Why would he give a shit? He’ll be onto his next far-fetched plan by the time the new developers are turning the place into Cool Springs North.
We also should question Too Tall when he claims that the May family will pay for the bridge over the Cumberland -- or for any new infrastructure the project will demand. How can he promise that if he won’t be involved in May Town after it breaks ground?
Hell, May stands to reap hundreds of millions of dollars if his land is merely rezoned for an office complex. He might sell and walk away. Then we're left with a completely new cadre of builders, who might have their own plans and the zoning to do what they want.
Now our gossip could be wrong. We tried to check it out with Too Tall, but he's not responding. And people who have confronted him about whether May was merely paying him an upfront fee to flack the deal — and nothing more — say that he didn’t deny the claim.
I suppose it’s fitting that a proposal this ridiculous -- which nobody seems to like — features a certain level of intrigue. Good plans are never tricky. Bad ones have to be.
Comments
I wanted to send this as an e-mail, but I can't find the link. Please forward this to Christine Kreyling, too.
A growing photo essay on Bell's Bend:
http://schatzkins.com/photos/bellsbend
Thanks,
--PS
Posted 08/11/2008 at 12:41:24 PMThank you. Bells Bend is truly nature's sanctuary.
Posted 08/11/2008 at 03:50:09 PM