The long and maddening journey of the Fort Lauderdale project known as Arts Park may finally be at its end.
When Mayor Dean Trantalis publicly calls this venture a “flim-flam” and says “it’s not happening,” it’s safe to say a ribbon-cutting is not imminent.
But be forewarned: This is Fort Lauderdale, where even a developer with shady financing plans gets another chance to close the deal — and then another, and another.
This editorial board advised the city long ago to reject this deal. Four years later, most elected officials see the light: another public-private partnership is not in the public’s best interests.
In this case, the site is a 3.3-acre city-owned lot just west of the old City Hall, known as “One Stop Shop.” It once housed all city permitting offices.
Entrepreneur Jeff John wowed City Hall on a European-style multi-story food emporium and cultural center with two-plus acres of green space in the middle.
He planned to invest more than $100 million and would lease the site for 50 years with two optional 25-year extensions. Because the city retained ownership of the land, John would pay no property taxes. It’s a for-profit venture on public land.
Unanswered questions
Four years later stately banyan trees sit lonely and deserted in a padlocked lot.
At a farcical public meeting on May 6, city officials declared John’s company in default of the contract because he couldn’t show proof of financing.
The city gave him more time, but the questions refuse to go away.
A city meeting was about to end on the night of Sept. 3 when Commissioner Ben Sorensen simply asked staff members for a project update, which opened a huge Pandora’s Box that will not close.
Judging by their words, the mayor and three commissioners have lost faith in the project. That leaves Commissioner Steve Glassman all alone to defend Arts Park, which is on life support only because interim City Attorney D’Wayne Spence signed a “partial cure” letter lifting the default.
‘It’s pretty upsetting’
At that Sept. 3 meeting, John and his lobbyist were not present. John blasted the city for discussing it when it wasn’t on the agenda. He questioned its legality.
“There was no due process given,” John told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. “It’s pretty upsetting when we have jumped through all these hoops.”
He still predicts the deal will remain intact, saying: “I feel very good.”
John insists he has the money, through BGC Group (the letters stand for Billion Global Chase). City staffers said a financial commitment would come from a firm in Ontario, Gauntlet Holdings Asset Management (GHAM).
An Aug. 27 city memo said Gauntlet “had not previously been identified” as having a role in the project.
Assistant City Manager Susan Grant tried to verify Gauntlet’s role. An email to her from company official Doug Smith, dated Sept. 8 and obtained by the Sun Sentinel through a public records request, said: “GHAM has not participated or agreed with the underwriting of the project as of yet, and the project is still under consideration.”
Show them the money
With typical clarity, Commissioner John Herbst said: “I want to know that the money is there.”
“Absolutely,” Sorensen echoed. “Absolutely.”
Commissioner Pam Beasley-Pittman said she will not vote to save the project under any circumstances.
“Who does business this way?” she asked, using the word “fraud.”
Trantalis noted that he asked John to produce a check for $250,000 as a sign of good faith (the amount due the city one year after a certificate of occupancy is issued, under their comprehensive agreement). So far, no check.
We know the wheels of government move slowly, but this is ridiculous.
Time to bring down the curtain on this years-long farce. As the mayor said at that Sept. 3 meeting, “Either do it or get off the pot.”
That’s, well, inartful, but for this deal, it’s fitting.
Jeff John has run out of time. Unless he stands in the middle of Broward Boulevard next week holding $140 million in cash, Arts Park appears dead or dying.
But of course, the city could always give him another chance.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
