As people have pointed out, there are a lot of problems associated with the recent middle of the night evacuation of Cascades Grandview towers which put 60-70 people on the streets and into Red Cross shelters just last week.Thousands owed in back taxes, shadow owners with addresses that don't exist, the list goes on. But I can't help but wonder if actions taken by TREBIC ( Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition) that included successfully lobbying the North Carolina Legislature to shut down RUCO (Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy) as was successfully operated by the City of Greensboro from 2004 until 2011 might have prevented the tragedy altogether by closing the high rise before most of the tenants moved in.
And when you add to that the fact that TREBIC has apparently been operating outside of the law since 2006 it becomes of great concern that this is the most powerful political organization in our local area.
And finally, are the owners of Cascades Grandview, whoever they may turn out to be, themselves, TREBIC members? Why wouldn't they be a member of an organization that has worked so hard to help them do business exactly the way they seem to want to do business? Most of the other area slum lords are TREBIC members, why not them too?
UPDATE: Later the same day, via the News & Record: The City of Greensboro proves my point. It's time TREBIC was abolished.
