Here

is a photo of the bid check provided by K$D at the time of the bid.  But there was a second check due in 12 months.  

If the first check has not been cashed by the County, then there is more corruption here than the FBI is yet investigating.

Which 500 K check is it that the County is "waiving"?  The bid check, or the second installment? 

The bid document states that K&D will pay the $500,000 if they complete the financing and purchase the building. That check was being held in deposit for a purchase agreement - due October 31.

"Interested parties must submit  their bids to the County’s Office of Procurement and Diversity by submitting four (4) signed originals of the  Purchase Agreement included in the Bidders Package, along with a deposit of $500,000.00 by certified check, cashiers check or money order drawn on a solvent bank or Savings and Loan Association, payable to the Cuyahoga County Treasurer (the “Offer Deposit”).  Such signed Purchase Agreement shall constitute  an offer to purchase by the bidder on the terms and conditions set forth therein, which offer is irrevocable for a period of sixty (60) days after the Bid Deadline.  Upon acceptance of the offer by the County, the Offer Deposit received from the successful bidder (the “Buyer”) shall be deposited by the County into an escrow account with Chicago Title Insurance Company at 1360 E. 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. An offer shall be deemed to have been accepted by the County at such time, if at all, that the County executes and delivers two (2) copies of the Purchase Agreement to the Buyer.  

On or before the Closing Date as outlined in  the Purchase Agreement,  the Buyer shall deposit the balance of the Purchase Price set forth in the Purchase Agreement into escrow."

From the PD article, "The deal would waive a $500,000 fee that K&D Group had agreed to pay if the company could not close a deal on the county-owned Ameritrust Tower by Oct. 31."

Now, unable to come up with $200 million in financing (credit) they have asked for more time. The BOCC has agreed to wait. Probably a good idea since they screwed up the first time by not casting a wider net. I would suspect that they may not find a new bidder in the current market.

It was K&D's first bid that was offered in two installments and rejected by the BOCC. They offered less than the bid deposit on the first round.

The first mistake was that the county bought the building in the first place. The second was a lame idea to tear down the tower. The third was that when they saw the light and decided to sell it, they did not advertise the sale beyond Cuyahoga County (Jeff - you'll recall that we asked Barb Shergalis about this at the bid meeting and she stated that she had asked if they wanted it posted in the WSJ and they had declined. From the bid document, "To be published in the Plain Dealer: March 4, 2008, March 11, 2008, March 18, 2008 and March 25, 2008.").

Poor planning resulted in a poor outcome for the city, the Breuer Tower, the Post Rotunda, the developer and the BOCC. Even though this project might have had a rosy afterlife 20 years ago when Jacobs bought it (had he had the vision to financing to complete the deal K&D set forth), that was not the case and so like so many wonderful Cleveland buildings, these will most likely remain moribund for years to come. Like so many other buildings in the city, their strong bones will have to wait for a refleshing until the current financial crisis has passed.  Too bad because the corners of East Ninth and Euclid and Prospect could have had a better fate.

The site of the bank that held the wealth accrued by some of the county's most heinous robber barons (Cleveland's polluting industrial giants) is experiencing the fate appropriate to such greed in the first place. Here at East Ninth and Euclid we see the signs of capitalism crumbling. A few blocks west, we see the signs of our County Government crumbling.

Barthelme's writing returns to mind today. I posted it here on May 4, 2008 in response to other city planning agendas. "Areas of the city, they told us, had been designed to rot, fall into desuetude..." Indeed this will ensue even more widely as the financial crisis deepens. We can farm in the neighborhoods, but our urban core will require more insightful planning; planning that is more insightful than what we have seen so far to be sure.

roldo...how do you rant and rave about the commisoners on a website with PLJ's sign at the top of the page?

Now, I have read all of your pieces online at the other site.  Despite very different political views I have had a lot of respect and admiration for your wisdom and experience.  However, tonight a lot of that went down the drain when I came to this site and read the piece on Lakewood Buzz.

Very ironic...you rant and rave about taxes yet you say we can't afford a McCain presidency.  to make matters worse you rant about the commisoners on a site with PLJ's sign at the top.

Partisanship is blinding...isn't it. 

Defered until the deal closes.  The first $500,000 and the current defered $500,000 will count towards final purchase so the money is just defered until the deal gets done.  In the face of the global economic catstrophy I think the commissioners are playing their only bet to get this deal done ever.