It looks like the word “catalyst” has been retired by the political set.
For decades, it was used to describe every new feature in downtown’s never-ending development, from Friendship Park to the Jacksonville Landing (since demolished).
Its replacement is “kick start.”
At the unveiling of another project downtown recently, Mayor Donna Deegan said: “It makes us a national leader and it’s exactly the type of project that we need to kick-start our next wave of downtown development.”
The project is an impressive one, for sure.
It is called the Pearl Street District, at least for now. It would redevelop 20 blocks downtown, north of the courthouse and west of the First Baptist Church.
Gateway Jax, which is proposing the project, says its leadership developed Water Street Tampa in that city — a $3 billion residential, commercial and institutional neighborhood downtown that will cost an estimated $3 billion when completed and add 3,500 new residents. The developers included Bill Gates and the owner of Tampa Bay Lightning.
The $2 billion cost of the Pearl Street District will involve city incentives, like many others, and the anticipated rate of return is $1.04 for every $1 the taxpayers put in, according to the Daily Record.
Promoters said it would make the city “vibrant,” another cliché that often accompanied “catalyst.”
While it certainly would be a plus for downtown, there is a slight problem: Where’s the money going to come from?
Politicians already are spending billions on giving people free sewer hookups, catching up on unfunded liabilities in the pension funds, expanding the almost-useless Skyway and building walkways through some of the most dangerous areas of town.
In addition, they are eyeing a new football stadium, jail and police station. And worrying about “resiliency” and “affordable housing.”
With a $7.7 billion city budget, there might be room for all that, but prudence suggests that setting some priorities would be in order when local residents are struggling to stay above water under the ravages of Bidenflation.
