Consider this: imagine if all of these respondents had large parking garages, but the winner didn’t have retail on the ground floor. They then went back and added it before the broke ground. Is that wrong?
I don't think that's quite the same. I'd say it's more like what if.... I don't know somebody we'll call Shad... entered an RFP against somebody we'll call..... how about Ennis. Shad's proposal is garbage, but he has a lot of money and close ties with the mayor. Ennis is a genius and his development is exactly what downtown needs, but this would be his biggest project to date and he's actually hated by the mayor. So Shad wins the RFP because of who he is, even with his garbage proposal, but then the city helps guide him to a better design after the fact. The city ignores the design merits to steer the proposal toward someone they're buddies with and then uses cues from the losing competition to improve the design.
I get your point, and it’s a fair one. However, put that example side for a moment. There has to be some way to enhance a project between the RFP stage and when it goes before DDRB. Bottom line is that the project-unless the retail is in a stupid spot-is better with retail than without.
Recent Posts