Edgewater development scores court victory (UPDATE)

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By Adam Wise

A state appellate court Thursday rejected the arguments of two Madison residents fighting the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment, inching the project closer to a construction start.

“I think it affirms that the lawsuit was frivolous and intended only to cause delay,” said Madison Alderman Mark Clear, who supports the project.

Fred Mohs and Eugene Devitt, both members of Madison’s Capitol Neighborhoods Inc. group, which represents the neighborhood that includes the Edgewater, argued against the Madison Common Council’s May 2010 project approval, saying the decision was without “analysis or reasoning” and that aldermen did not properly consider the interests of the public, according to the lawsuit.

But the District IV Court of Appeals ruled it could not reverse the council’s approval of the $98 million hotel project. The defendants in the case were the city of Madison and Landmark X LLC, which is the name of the Edgewater redevelopment company. Robert Dunn, the president of Brookfield-based Hammes Co., also is listed on a city of Madison lobbyist form as the president of Landmark X.

The ruling was the latest in a 17-month court battle.

“It is apparent that the appellants believe the council made an unwise decision,” according to the court’s ruling. “Courts do not second guess credibility determinations made by local government entities like the council, and the courts are not empowered to question the wisdom of decisions like the one made by the council here.”

According to the appellate court, Mohs has 30 days from the ruling to petition the case for review by the state Supreme Court.

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Devitt wasn’t immediately available to comment on the ruling Thursday afternoon.

Mohs said he had just received a copy of the ruling and couldn’t immediately comment.

“I have to read this first and give it some thought,” he said.

Dunn also was unavailable. He has said he expected the project to create 800 construction jobs and would include renovating the 1946 hotel, building a nine-story addition and adding an underground parking ramp.

Peter Ostlind, a member of Capitol Neighborhoods, said the court ruling, while surprising, always was a possibility.

“I don’t have a whole lot to say,” he said. “The ruling is unfortunate from my perspective.”

Now, Ostlind said, the city must decide how much to commit to the project’s tax incremental finance district.

A TIF district lets municipalities borrow money to subsidize developments and pay for supporting utility and street work. Communities then use new taxes generated by the projects to pay off the debt.

The city planned to subsidize the project with $16 million this year, but the lawsuit stalled the project, threatening to prevent a construction start in 2011. In September, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin proposed reducing the city’s TIF contribution to $3.3 million in 2012.

The council is scheduled to vote on the 2012 budget in November.

Soglin, who was attending a National League of Cities meeting Thursday in Washington, was not immediately available to comment Thursday.

Capitol Neighborhoods President Adam Plotkin said the city should not spend $16 million on the Edgewater.

“It’s basically corporate welfare the city is handing out to a project that doesn’t really need it,” he said.

But if Landmark X starts the project in 2011, the $16 million applies, Clear said.

“The money is in this yearís budget, and that budget is approved,” he said. “So if the development were able to move forward now, then the mayor’s decision for the 2012 budget becomes moot.”

No matter what the timing is for the project, Clear said, Mohs and Devitt should not take their case to the Supreme Court.

“Oh gosh, don’t even go there,” Clear said. “Legally, they have that option, but in my nonlawyer opinion, I don’t see how they have any basis.”

More on the Edgewater project

• OSHA fines Findorff for Edgewater death (UPDATE)
• OSHA wraps up Edgewater death investigation
• Supreme Court rejects Edgewater lawsuit (UPDATE)
• Time slips away for Edgewater project
• Residents want Wis. Supreme Court to hear Edgewater redevelopment case
• Neighborhood group 1, Edgewater 0 … for now
• Madison council votes down $16M TIF for Edgewater Hotel
• Edgewater subsidy at risk in Madison budget
• Editorial cartoon
• Edgewater development scores court victory (UPDATE)