A longtime plan to develop 125 acres on the waterfront in East Toledo could be in jeopardy as the city's developer has been unable to secure a letter of credit to back part of the Marina District project.
As a result, Larry Dillin, creator of Levis Commons in Perrysburg, said he will be seeking approval from Toledo City Council on a new financing plan for the project's $20 million proposed main roadway and park along the Maumee River.
"In the current banking environment, which continues to spiral down, the banks we were talking about issuing a letter of credit to back the [general obligation] bonds [that] the city was going to issue, are now saying, 'We are not issuing any letters of credit' - not just to us, but to anyone," Mr. Dillin said.
Mr. Dillin said the "meltdown in the banking industry" has made it impossible to secure a letter of credit, which is required under the plan approved last month by council.
The new plan he's proposed - which is being recommended by Mayor Carty Finkbeiner - puts greater risk on Mr. Dillin and less financial obligations on the city, he said.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080822/NEWS16/808220...
Fifth Third recently halted all commercial loans, regardless of the risk involved. I'm not surprised Dillin is having trouble securing financing.
---------
"Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually dirty kitchen, and
five times out of nine I'll show you an exceptional man." -Charles
Bukowski