Thanks to Rana Goodman for the following commentary.
The original can be viewed on AnthemToday.com
The link to the article is:
Reproduced with Permission
Yesterday I received the association’s opinion poll and at first I was just going to mark my choice, multi-purpose rooms, and then drop it at the Anthem Center. However, as I then began to read the accompanying fact sheet, I was left with glaring questions on what was written there.
Please read the pro and con sheet and judge for yourself, the misleading information, at least that is my opinion of what I saw there. Starting with the statement that converting to multipurpose rooms will cost SCA $2.3 million per year… Once built, all I see are a slight addition to the current cost for possibly more janitorial and utility costs. (if you are interested in buying a bridge, I heard that the Brooklyn Bridge might be available!)
Additionally, from what I understand without the restaurant and bar SCA will not pay the property tax charged now because we will be entirely “not for profit”
Option 1 “reopen the restaurant:
“The operator will pay not rent, property taxes, utilities. SCA will pay some operating costs like Janitorial, linen service, advertising etc.” The restaurant operator only pay for staff and food and cost to us (SCA) would be about $250,000 per year or $35 per home.
Pros offered:
“Provides a unique dining experience?” That is an assumption without foundation, with no vendor we don’t know that and that idea has failed 5 or 6 times already.
“Excellent sales and marketing tool for home sales” According to real estate studies done this far, the lack of a restaurant has NOT hampered home sales at all.
Cons offered
1: Our area has many other restaurant choices
2: A restaurant will attract non-residents! … It does not and that is one of the reasons all past restaurants have failed.
3: There will be NO pot-lucks or “drop & go’s (food delivery) in Anthem Center, The restaurant operator will have exclusive catering rights. This will restrict clubs from many food choices for their events o unless they go off campus.
Option 2 Converting to multipurpose rooms “cons” listed:
1: Before bids have ever been announced, they have listed the approximate cost at “$750,000 (or more)” and states that “a special assessment will be required”. However, when the board and GM agreed to $250,000 subsidy per year plus tons and tons or additional perks to the last restaurant asking to take the space, not one word was stated about a special assessment to support the place.
2: “SCA already has many meeting rooms,” yes we do, BUT scheduling is already a problem for the few large rooms that clubs and residents may use for events. One at Liberty Center, one at Independence Center and the Delaware room/grand ballroom at Anthem Center. Many clubs vie for those rooms and perhaps if we had more the cost to use them for residence would be a little less.
3: “As our demographics change, in the future we may have less need for more meeting rooms” In my opinion that is hogwash! Homes are being sold at SCA constantly, as more people move in often the age demographic changes too. Also, just because we are aging it does not mean we won’t want to meet with the respective clubs, our friends, or hold events without fighting for dates and spaces. Currently, for example, when the Women’s Club meets for their luncheons Current Events Club must move to another location so their regular meeting room can be encompassed into the Grand Ballroom.
In the second paragraph of this section it states; “after conversion SCA’s annual cost would be approximately $160,000 per year or $22 per home” I don’t believe that and would like to see the bare cost of operating the meeting rooms in Anthem Center at this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment