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Editorial: Hollywood in a Vise
A charter school and a developer are turning the screw on the City of Hollywood. A contract between these two parties calls for parents of the school children to become advocates not only for their school but also for a 25-story residential tower, office building, and two parking garages, all of which -- along with the school -- are to be built on 2.57 acres on the southeast side of Young Circle. The school and the developer have much to gain, while the city will be squeezed almost dry if our elected officials give final approval to the rezoning that will make this project possible. This extraordinary deal calls for the developer (WSG) to "sell" to the school, for a single dollar, 27,000 square feet of downtown Hollywood land valued at $8-9 million. Here a school-related entity yet to be determined is to build a five-story charter school. WSG, for its part, is to receive, from the city, 90% of all the new tax revenue the entire development project generates for 15 years (until 2025). The only losers in this deal are Hollywood's taxpayers and those who envision a charming, inviting village atmosphere in downtown Hollywood. In addition to all the tax revenue channeled to the developer, valuable downtown land now taxable will be removed from the tax rolls if a non-profit school entity acquires it. And any possibility of a community-supported vision for development around Young Circle goes out the window, supplanted by this massive high-rise, with the prospect of other looming towers to follow once this very bad precedent is set. Unless the city takes action, we will be stuck with the developer-driven hodgepodge that is on the drawing board for Young Circle, not the least of which is WSG's project. See developer's renderings of the project below but don't count on greenery as only one percent of the entire site is to be pervious surface. (Aerial views: on the left: facing west from 17th Ave.: 5-story school and 8-story office building in foreground with ghostly representation of the existing Home Tower just behind the office building, and residential tower in rear; on the right: circle view of the residential tower).
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The Balance Sheet Online is a website sponsored by residents of Hollywood, Florida to raise community awareness and encourage dialogue about issues important to the quality of life in our city. Sara Case is the editor.www.balancesheetonline.comMay 9, 2008
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