More COMIDA grants that didn’t pan out
By now you know that For Your Entertainment (FYE) has left the building - specifically the Medley Center. You also know that there is not a lot of traffic at Medley center so it is difficult to sustain retail stores. You have buzz like this that the former Irondequoit Mall is in trouble.
What you might not know is that COMIDA gave the former Irondequoit mall owners tax breaks (feel free to look up the exact COMIDA grants yourself)
COMIDA, Monroe County’s Industrial Development Agency, said that the mall’s owner has met all job creation and investment incentives needed to collect tax breaks. The county has a vested interest in the mall’s success and they say that to their understanding, the new owner is actively searching for new businesses.
So big retail center is getting COMIDA breaks for development. A retail center. I have two questions.
Well - anyone think that the market is simply saturated with malls or retail establishments?
What has the track record been with grants for this particular project? What are the results besides staving off the inevitable?
Seems like we are simply trying to relocate retail jobs from various malls and box stores on Ridge road to a mall.
Does this make sense? Just asking.
In my opinion, one of the worst componments of the incentive package to the prior owner, was to permit him to build the free standing Target store adjacent to the mall. The only thing a free standing store of that type could do is detract from the mall. With all the open space in the mall itself, a Target store could easily have been incorporated into the mall itself, which would have provided a new anchor tenant to stabilize the mall. It didn’t happen, and the mall continued to struggle.
I agree. One of the allures of big box stores is convenience -so a bunch of things under one roof - why would folks walk across the parking lot to “the mall”
[...] Actually, while you are there check out the Medley Center and see how those COMDIA benefits are working out. [...]
[...] some COMIDA grants like those for retail businesses. Remember Mid-town athletic club? Look at the Medley Center. Look at Greece Ridge Mall. Remember that the County and State are dependent upon tax revenues. We [...]