Kelo Calamity Continues; Media Remains AWOL

You really can't make this stuff up, as they say.

This is from the New London Day last Friday (link probably requires registration, and would require a paid subscription after this coming Friday; HT Liberty Conspiracy):

Fort Trumbull Developer Asks FHA To Back $11.5M Loan

Faced with a tight lending climate, the Corcoran Jennison company has asked the Federal Housing Authority to back an $11.5 million loan to fund the long-delayed construction of housing on the Fort Trumbull peninsula.

Corcoran Jennison applied for the mortgage insurance last Friday, said Kristine Foye, spokeswoman for the New England Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The request was filed three months before a crucial May 29 deadline for the Boston-based developer to secure financing and sign a construction contract for an 80-unit complex of rental apartments and townhouses.

..... While a federal commitment could bring more favorable terms for Corcoran Jennison, the company is also seeking conventional financing from major lenders, Carberry said Thursday.

..... According to the developer's HUD application, “The development plan is for an upscale rental property that will be positioned to compete at the top of the market,” Foye said.

So, if the project ever gets going, the properties that were the subject of the infamous Kelo decision -- properties that contained middle-class owner-occupied and rental homes -- will be replaced by palatial digs for the well-to-do, insured in case the project fails by Uncle Sam.

The Day seems bound and determined to keep the word Kelo out of its coverage, while the rest of Old Media seems bound and determined to totally ignore the ongoing fiasco.

I have said before that what ultimately happens with the properties that were the subject of the Kelo ruling will be instructive. So far, it has been just that, showing that the government is generally not capable of handling property development. This is why the private sector should be doing these kinds of things, with willing sellers and buyers.

A shorter version of this entry is part of this BizzyBlog post.