Remember the Candy Factory?
You may recall there was a little dustup over the World’s Fair Park project a couple years ago. The idea was to save the Sunsphere, the Candy Factory, and the Tennessee Amphitheater.
In the News Sentinel today we learn it may cost $3.4 million for full renovation or $655,000 for complete demolition. Money that was supposed to come from the developer of the World’s Fair Project and not the city.
Looking back on the Candy Factory deal Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam pushed through it is difficult to see how any money was saved. The only assets, the Candy Factory and Victorian Homes, were purchased at rock bottom prices and the Sunsphere and Tennessee Amphitheater were pulled from the project. Looking back at the downtown Cinema project it is now three times over budget. Looking at the Five Points shopping center deal another expensive failure. Don’t even ask about Renee Kesler.
So how is this Mayoral administration doing? This is an administration of futures. Future promises that don’t come true. Not on budget, not on time, and not what was promised. This is what happens when you are more interested in the next political office instead of running the office you currently hold.
There is an election for the office of Knoxville Mayor next November. What kind of report card would you give Mayor Haslam today?
December 14th, 2006 at 11:13 am
“This is what happens when you are more interested in the next political office instead of running the office you currently hold.”
This seems to imply that using the government to accomplish the stated objective is okay. I think a statement closer to reality would be: This is what happens when government force is used outside its properly limited scope; the disposition of the properties in question should have been entirely a private enterprise.