Randy Patterson, Director, Economic Development & Neighborhood Revitalization for the City of Lancaster, says he has spent considerable effort over the past five years seeking to find a use for the long vacant former Bulova building.
Hamid Zahedi and his partners during the same period of time have tried to come up with a way of making their Brunswick Hotel a viable investment, after having invested close to $9,000,000 in its acquisition, improvements and operations.
Neither has met with success and it is because both have been seeking answers to the wrong questions.
The solution to the thirty year marginality of Lancaster Square and its deplorable current status is for the Bulova building, the Brunswick and the Brunswick Annex to be razed, creating a prime downtown site for residential development. As it is, the foot prints of the individual buildings per the condominium plan are not conducive to other uses.
Patterson claims that he has reached out to the Brunswick owners. Zahedi has no recollection of any such discussion, although he says he would welcome it.
When Robert Field, NewsLanc’s publisher and a veteran developer of residential communities , sought an appointment with Patterson to discuss the Lancaster Square situation, on or off the record, he was advised by Chief of Staff Pat Brogan:
“Unless and until there is some indication of your willingness to invest your own funds and reputation in developing this site, I see no reason to spend valuable taxpayer-funded time in discussions of ideas that have already been explored. As Chief of Staff, I can assure you that Randy’s time is very, very limited. We have placed significant demands on that time and he is expected to pursue priorities and projects that have been determined by this Administration.”
Field responded: “…my position as publisher of NewsLanc prevents me from entertaining private investments in the City of Lancaster. I am not about to make the same mistake as did the Lancaster Newspapers, Inc with the Marriott Hotel.”
He also wrote to Patterson: “I think it is time for you and me to start our relationship all over again and see if somehow we can be helpful in solving this long term cancer for downtown.”
It appears that the City persists in asking the wrong questions and, when annoyed by inquiries, rebuffs the media. Convention Center Project déjà vu?
