First the Sounds failed to get their financial ship in order on a Riverfront stadium. Now comes word that the Westin's development group is lagging along the same lines on their controverial Lower Broad hotel plans.
And what do they blame it on? Stronger green requirements that were part of the compromise to get Council Member Mike Jameson's support, of course. They agreed to LEED certification and a green roof a long, long time ago and the requirements were not some last minute surprise when the Council approved a long time ago, so why are they blaming their financing shortfalls on the more progressive part of this development?
It smells like typical developer bellyaching about planning requirements that they should have anticipated beforehand. It also sounds like Westin developers are tactically projecting their own failures and oversight onto external conditions may or may not have the broadest public support.
Rather than wasting energy pointing fingers and playing environment neanderthals, maybe they should pour more into tracking down financing that probably should have already been in place. At least act light green, given the monumental growth of the green market niche. Otherwise, Nashvillians like me might think that the Arkansas developers are trying to weasel out of some O-2-sustaining green requirements just to save some of their own money.
Indeed.
ReplyDelete