My ongoing series, Incentives In Greensboro continues.
Perhaps you read in today's News & Record of Roy Carroll's plans to build a 4 acre downtown mixed use development. Roy has been buying up downtown properties for quite some time now and continues to buy up properties in preparation of this project but have you wondered how it is that Roy is able to buy up so many properties when just a few years ago the City of Greensboro was loaning Mr Carroll money to build his penthouse high above Center Pointe?
The answer might be found in yesterday's post, Greensboro: Giving Incentives To Tax Delinquents in which I pointed out that Milton Kern and Randall Kaplan, owners of Elm Street Center Llc, located at 203 South Elm Street are delinquent in their property taxes to the amount of $62, 356.53.
It might also interest you to know of the following downtown delinquents:
301 North Elm Street Llc $190,871.67
GREENSBORO BASEBALL, LLC, the NEWBRIDGE BANK STADIUM $286,463.06
GREENSBORO BASEBALL, LLC again for the NEWBRIDGE BANK STADIUM $77,514.20 Those two might both be reflected in the first bill.
GREENE STREET PROPERTY OPERATIONS LLC, the JAYCEE BUILDING, 401 N GREENE St $22,740.88
Another I missed yesterday was again Elm Street Center Llc, this time their property located at 200 S DAVIE ST, their parking deck $16,500.05
Doesn't our ol' buddy, gangster Rocco Scarfone own the N Club Llc located at 117 S Elm St. $15,545.37
I found a second delinquent bill for the N Club 117-119 S Elm $13,320.45
Hammer Brother Properties Llc 214 West Market St $12,277.55 When Roy Carroll bought the rights to the Rhinoceros Times he left the taxpayers and the creditors hanging for the bills.
EQV PROPERTIES LLC, 348 N Elm St $11,904.35 Isn't that one of the properties bought for the GPAC? A bail out perhaps for a connected downtown property owner?
GREENE STREET HOLDING CO LLC, 113 N GREENE ST $11,490.02 That's the Greene Street Club that Roy Carroll's noise ordinance put out of business.
Now those were just the downtown listings in excess of $10,000. If you use the Guilford County Delinquent Bill Search you'll notice a couple of trends. One is that a lot of well known downtown names own huge sums of delequent taxes all over Greensboro. The other is that realtors and developers-- the people who have historically controlled Greensboro government for decades-- are the biggest delinquents.
I continue with a few downtown delinquents who owe less than $10,000.
SUMMIT INVESTORS LLC, 241 SUMMIT AVE $9,721.51 Someone should inform the Greensboro Police Union that their landlord is not paying his property taxes.
304 HOLDINGS LLC, 710 720 W MARKET $8,862.38
EASTERN COSTUME CO 224 COMMERCE PL $7,773.24
DAVID W ALLEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP 129 E FISHER AVE $7,972.05
DAVID W ALLEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP 129 E FISHER AVE $8,543.83
DAVID W ALLEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP 129 E FISHER AVE $7,268.75
That's on 1 downtown property. All total the DAVID W ALLEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP owes well over $100,000 in delinquent property taxes.
PERRYS DOWNTOWN EXXON 400 N GREENE ST $6,665.82 Of that, $350.08 goes to Downtown Greensboro Incorporated. What has DGI ever done to improve Perry Caudill's garage and gas station business. Perry, like so many Greensboro business owners, lives outside of the Greensboro City Limits and therefore has no voice in Greensboro government. He fled the city many years ago to raise his family in a safe environment and send his children to safe schools and yet like so many Greensboro business owners Perry is being taxed out of business. Perry operates the only gas station in all of downtown Greensboro. I hope Greensboro's elites enjoy walking home.
R S INTERNATIONAL INC Our favorite gangster Rocco Scarfone again, 117 S ELM ST $6,075.39
CORDELIA H FABER ESTATE C/O DR WENDY CAMP, 312 S ELM ST $5,885.91
ST LEO'S LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LLP, 608 BATTLEGROUND AV $5,873.80
BASIL, SOPHIA and PSATHA, DESPINA AGAPION, 625 S ELM ST $5,817.37 City wide they owe over $100,000 in delinquent property taxes.
VERA T RABIN, 305 N EDGEWORTH ST, $5,589.91
MCGILL INC, 516 FEDERAL PLACE $5,547.75
DIVERSIFIED WORLD ENTERPRISES, 114 N ELM STREET, The Piedmont Building, $5,513.98 It appears Robbie Perkins and his company, NAI Piedmont has been unable to keep it filled.
HUGH SARVIS FAMILY LLC, 357 SUMMIT AVE, $5,331.44
J O POTTER, 219 LYNDON STREET $5,733.66
J O POTTER, 219 LYNDON STREET $5,227.86
You see, if you haven't figured it out already, downtown Greensboro is not doing well. The folks who own these properties are even delinquent in paying the taxes on their own homes. Bill Agapion is even delinquent on his home on Willoughby Blvd in New Irving Park. Even Irving Park is filled with delinquent property tax bills, most of them owed by people who once earned fortunes in the real estate and development business.
Loosing one's business is one thing but loosing a home? These people are more than willing to sell their downtown properties to the likes of Roy Carroll for just enough to pay off their debts and keep them in their fancy houses so God forbid they don't end up living with their parents like the working class must do.
As an aside, I don't know if the properties are located downtown or not but ANTILLES SEAPLANES LLC has numerous listings totaling well in excess of $100,000 with the address listed as Graham, North Carolina, outside of Guilford County making it impossible to know where the properties are located but the NC Secretary of State lists the corporation as dissolved on June 2, 2000. Why these properties haven't been seized 14 years later is beyond me.
What you're seeing in the effort to build the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts is the beginning of round 4 of Downtown Greensboro Renovation-- incentives to downtown business owners and Greensboro's connected elites... Well, that is to those who have yet to go out of business.
Problem is, like the previous 3 rounds of downtown renovation which all took place in my lifetime, the end result will again be the need for another round of downtown renovation-- incentives to the real estate developers.
You see, like the business of war, because real estate development adds nothing tangible to the economy it must destroy what is already built in order to build again. In a perfect world manufacturing and other such industries would drive real estate to forever build and only time would destroy but without a strong economic base developers loot the taxpayers to support their expensive habits and provide incentives solely to keep them in business despite the fact that all the while the general population grows poorer.
Yes, it will someday come to an end. The question is: will it end like in Detroit where entire suburbs sit empty and the city files bankruptcy or will it end now?
Funny, this last round of downtown renovation barely made it 10 years-- how long will this one last?
Please continue reading Incentives In Greensboro Part 24: Setting The Record Straight
