Despite the MILLION$ at stake, Hallandale Beach City Comm. DOESN'T do simple due diligence, but DOES cave-in to Forest City/Village at Gulfstream Park

Above, artist rendering of The Village at Gulfstream Park retail project, and, below, the sign as posted in May of 2008 and seen on U.S.-1, with the Gulfstream Park Racetrack grandstand in the distance. May 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

The letter below was sent to the Hallandale Beach City Commission and City Manager Mark A. Antonio on Wednesday the 14th, prior to their 5 p.m. City Comm. meeting, and was written and signed by myself and my friend, Hallandale Beach civic activist Csaba Kulin, who will be making some news of his own next week.

For you readers out in the blogosphere, wherever you are, it's a bit of a follow-up to my post yesterday about the efforts of the folks at The Village at Gulfstream Park and their parent, Forest City to get out of complying with the mitigation requirements that were placed on them in order to get the city and Broward County to sign-off and give their final approval for the Village project many years ago.

That post was titled, No surprise given what I've told you here: A "challenging retail leasing environment" at Village at Gulfstream Park according to Forest City's execs

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/no-surprise-given-what-ive-told-you.html

That vote by the city was prior to Keith London, Anthony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy were elected to the HB City Commission.

Along with their various hired guns and minions, they showed-up for the December 7th HB City Commission meeting determined to persuade the Commission that they should modify those requirements thru amendments.

#12 A. A Resolution of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Accepting Amendments to the Village at Gulfstream Park Plat ( This Resolution is a result of Application# 10-12-PR by Gulfstream Racing Association, Inc.) (Staff: Development Services)(See Backup) CAD#029/04 (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/00439/Exported%20OV%20Docs/Staff%20Reports/00008546.htm

http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/00439/Exported%20OV%20Docs/Item%2012A/index.html

The City Commission, in my opinion, operating largely out of woeful ignorance -even more than usual- caved-in and made some terrible decisions that night that most citizen taxpayers of HB STILL know nothing about, all these days later, given that ZERO members of the South Florida news media bothered to attend the meeting, which as you regular readers of this blog know, is NOT exactly a new trend in general in terms of covering local government.

That's particularly true in HB, where the city remains one of the area's perennial laughingstocks in the media due to what its elected officials and administrators have actually said and done over the recent past, much of that due to the buffoonish and jaw-dropping antics of former HB Commissioner and 2012 candidate William "Bill" Julian.

Trust me, well-informed and attentive news reporters and columnists are as rare around Hallandale Beach as Three Wise Men and a Virgin -at any time of the year.

This news media blackout came despite the fact that they were talking about well over $10 Million in changes, not to mention, a change in sound public policy to... what exactly?

The City Commission vote was 5-0.

The Broward County Commission is the ultimate authority on whether or not these modifications desired by Forest City and the Village will be made, and next week, I hope to find out when their public meeting will be scheduled in the new year so that I can mention it here and make sure that everyone is aware of the fact that this is NOT a DONE DEAL.

I also should let you know now that as of today, it's my plan to post this same letter in the next few days with some accompanying photos documenting what Csaba and I have written, so that those of you far from these sub-tropical shores can see for yourself how completely inept and inattentive the folks running things on both sides of U.S.-1 were and remain.

So, all that said, this is what was actually sent to the HB City Commission and City Manager on Wednesday:

Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Commissioners:

Christmas came early this year for Forest Cities, Gulfsteam Park Race Track & Casino and the Village at Gulfstream Park, LLC.

Under the Christmas tree were at least three gifts worth about $17 Million, collectively, courtesy of the citizen taxpayers of Hallandale Beach, delivered by you, our elected City Commission.

This action comes after an approximately $15 Million gift/loan under TIF about two years ago.

As is so often the case with important issues at Hallandale Beach City Hall, the debate and then votes on the issue took place just before Midnight, when most HB citizen taxpayers were fast asleep.

Why no continuance to a reasonable time?

The City entered into what both parties agreed at the time was a reasonable Development Agreement (DA) about six years ago, and the Developer, eager to get started on the project, agreed to it, anxious to change the dynamic and image of the property make it a destination attraction.

Now, six years later, the Developer wants to renegotiate the uncompleted portions of the DA, claiming changed economic conditions.

While we all want the property to succeed and become a source of both pride and profits, our primary concerns today in writing are that Hallandale Beach taxpayers' best interests are protected, and believe that should be your paramount concern, too.

Simply put, you have completely dropped the ball.

The Developer’s main argument for modification now has been that “economic times” have changed since 2007.

While we agree that the economy is not one that any of us likes, your answer in response to them should have been that, as a starter, to be one of modification based on revisiting these issues 5-10 years from now, with time-certain dates for doing so.

Economic activity and spending may indeed be much better in the future than currently, and then those requirements could be re-examined for their suitability, but simply waving the white flag NOW is NOT a strategy that best represents the short-term and long-term financial and Quality-of-Life interests of Hallandale Beach taxpayers.

For the record, we came up with the $17 Million size of gift by using your own consultant, Mr. Paul Lambert’s number for the Transportation Mitigation relief portion.

For the Affordable Housing relief, we have used our own recent experience with Highland Park Village (HPV), Mayor Cooper’s estimate of the expected subsidies needed to sell the units in HPV, and Paul Lambert’s own admission that $50,000 per unit is closer to reality than VGP’s offered $5,000 per unit.

A developer is obligated to have 15% of the total units to be built be “affordable/workforce” housing units.

While developers traditionally try to have some or all the affordable housing units located off-site, we believe these units should be dispersed among the rest of the 85%, not displaced west of the Mississippi River.

This is a community, not an Indian Reservation.

Additionally, we believe that the amount of money offered ought to be the price difference between a market-priced unit and an affordable/workforce-priced unit.

Based on the City’s recent experience with Highland Park Village, we know that it will take $50,000 dollars or more to make a market-price unit an affordable and desirable housing unit.

You can use the same logic for the other two properties the City owns to come up with the dollar amount needed to complete.

The cost per unit subsidy ought to be very similar to HPV.

After all, what good are units that nobody wants?

Based on these calculations for the 225 affordable/workforce housing units the VGP is obligated to build over time, the City’s CRA should have received roughly $11,250,00 (at $50,000 per-unit), not the measly $1,125.000, ($5,000 per-unit) that you all agreed to last Wednesday night.

That is a $10,045,00 gift to the Developers, money that more appropriately should be going to the City’s CRA at some definite time in the future, as the 1,500 housing units were actually built and ready for purchase.

It was extremely distressing to city taxpayers that on such an important issue, some of you were and are remarkably uninformed about the facts, and the $5,000 contribution per-unit mentioned by Broward County toward affordable housing.

We firmly believe that financial number is the “floor,” NOT the “ceiling” for contributions.

We are quite confident that Broward County would NOT object if the Developers were prepared to contribute $50,000 dollars per unit to the City's CRA, an opinion that we will soon be sharing with the Broward County Commissioners and staff as they deal with this subject, too.

The elimination of the off-site 500-car parking garage saves the Developer $5,000,000, and while we agree that such a garage is not needed at present, absent requirements that this issue be revisited at some definite point in time in the future, how do we know what the situation and need will be five or ten years from now? This is the very definition of short-sighted and self-defeating.

As best we can figure, the elimination of the Tri-Rail shuttle service saves the Developer $200,000-$250,000 per year.

While it may or may not be needed at this time, why agree to give it up entirely at this time, not knowing the future demand?

And more to the point of your collective oversight and accountability, or rather the lack of it on Wednesday night, where is ANY PROOF that the general public even knows about the Tri-Rail shuttle, as there is no posted schedule anywhere at the Super-Stop, and there is NOTHING in their newspaper promotions which specifically mention it.

NONE of you seem to have actually visited the Super-Stop, despite how close it is to your office, one block away.

In fact, many of not most of their own employees DON'T even know about it, including the security personnel who patrol that particular area, as recent conversations we've had with them have proven time-and-again.

They didn't know what we were talking about!

You can hardly expect unaware consumers to use a so-called service that the Developer themselves adamantly refuse to properly promote or feature, and you should wonder yourselves why they have done this if they really want to increase their number of visitors.

They seem entirely oblivious to this -and so do you.

And what do HB taxpayers receive in return for giving up these two major Transportation mitigation requirements?

Well, we get to relocate the City's mini-bus stop from behind City Hall to the Super-Stop.

What a deal!

If the Developer was truly interested in increasing the visitors to their property, that should have been done for free to the residents as soon as the Super-Stop was completed in January of 2010.

There should have been a little ribbon-cutting ceremony, but instead, that aspect of the mitigation was NOT completed on time -in time for the beginning of the racing season- as were many of the adjoining areas, and we have photographic proof of the Developer's inability to meet reasonable deadlines. Among other things...

And yes, that would be the same bus Super-Stop that has never really been properly maintained by the Developer the past two years, as anyone who uses it regularly could tell you.

What could possibly explain your collective failure -and that of the City Manager and his staff- to stay on top of such a simple thing, located only one block from City Hall?

There's really no excuse.

We remain profoundly disappointed in the way that this entire matter has been negotiated, presented to the citizen taxpayers of this city, and resolved -near Midnight.

We are quite confident that Broward County's Commissioners and their professional staff will take a much more nuanced look at the facts on-the-ground in determining whether or not this change is appropriate and in the community's best long-term interests, or whether it would be more appropriately revisited at agreed-upon time-certain dates in the future.

You can rest assured that this issue and the way that it has been mis-handled by you and the City Manager's staff, will NOT fade away in the coming months.

Quite to the contrary, it will be a subject that ever more residents of this city will become angry about as they learn the true facts of your White Flag strategy.

No surprise given what I've told you here: A "challenging retail leasing environment" at Village at Gulfstream Park according to Forest City's execs

Above, entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex on Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach, FL.

December 7, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Many of you who are regular readers of this blog have no doubt wondered why I haven't yet taken the opportunity to write anything about the recent 'Opening' two weeks ago of the new season of racing at Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, as well as comment on what I've heard and observed of late there and with The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, and their parent, real estate developer Forest City.

I know this because you've contacted me to ask as much.

I have quite a lot to say, actually, and have been sitting on some troubling information for a bit, waiting for some more shoes to fall, even while I've already attended a few hours worth of races the past two weeks.

Mostly, though, I've been patiently biding my time waiting to see what actually transpires at Hallandale Beach City Hall -directly across the street from the racetrack and the retail complex- where the developer and their myriad minions and flacks, along with other interested parties, have, unfortunately, tried to use the current sour U.S. economy like a cudgel against the best long-term financial and Quality-of-Life interests of the HB community.

These well-paid forces have tried their best to persuade the elected City Commission to waive or modify mitigation requirements the city and Broward County required them to agree to in writing in exchange for the developer getting their desired final approval for the giant retail complex, as well as their long-term housing plans for lots of pricey condos on the HB side of the property.

(Property which, lest you forget, also extends south into the City of Aventura and Miami-Dade County, where the powers-that-be keep the entrance/exit on N.E. 213th Street closed with barricades. The adjoining sidewalk entrance onto the property is STILL full of dangerous potholes and loose wires as they have been for YEARS. And did I mention yet that it was STILL the very picture of pitch-black at night, as it has been for -wait for it- YEARS?

That area is a litigation disaster waiting to happen, but STILL they do nothing.)

I'll have more to say about all of that over the next few days, but until then, please mull over the following news directly from the mouths of the upper echelons of developer Forest City.

The following is an excerpt from an email I sent out on December 9th:

Highlight of Forest City Enterprises CEO Discusses Q3 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

http://seekingalpha.com/article/313017-forest-city-enterprises-ceo-discusses-q3-2011-results-earnings-call-transcript

Let me take a moment to address the other primary impairment, the Village at Gulfstream Park and Hallandale Beach, Florida, where we recognized a $34.6 million impairment in the third quarter. The lease up of Gulfstream began during the death of the recent recession and has continued through what remains a challenging retail leasing environment, particularly for new properties.

Our house wares, home furnishings and restaurants at the Gulfstream have done well, but our fashion tenants have struggled and we are actively working to remerchandize the center to match the demands of the market. Repositioning that component of the center will require additional investment. Also the original construction loan for this equity method property matures in September of next year. The uncertainty of the repositioning, together with the standard of the loan required us to impair our investment.

Long term we continue to believe in the strength of the market and will focus on repositioning the asset to meet the needs of the market. We also have additional future entitlements at the site that we can activate when economic conditions and the performance of the center improve.

Well-informed people I know tell me that many of the owners of the struggling retailers at the Village are already taling about fleeing toute-de-suite in the coming months when their rents get jacked-up in the new year as their current leases end.

And you thought the Dolphins and the City of Hallandale Beach were badly mis-managed...

One last thing to consider: despite their millions and resources, do you know what Magna Entertainment/Gulfstream Park has actually told the residents and business owners of Hallandale Beach about their intentions for having at least some night racing next year -which I support in theory- since I last wrote about the subject here on the blog?

NOTHING.

Nothing at all.

They still send their PR rep, Suzanne Friedman, across the street to HB City Commission meetings once in a while to paint an optimistic portrait of the doings on the east side of the street, but in her defense, she is NOT empowered by top management to actually level with everyone here about the truth of the matter.

So what's the plan?

What's the plan?

Well, they won't say, despite the fact that it would have a tangible -maybe even severe- effect on the ability of HB residents to actually get around and navigate thru the city at night on the evenings racing takes place, given that there is only one street in the entire city that has east-west capability throughout most of the city -over-loaded Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Yes, the street that is the north-side entrance and exit for Gulfstream Park and the Village, right next to the sign at the top of this post.

But then Magna Entertainment is STILL having problems launching their new website, which was supposed to already be up and running: http://www.stronachgroup.com/

As of today, December 15th, it still reads, "Site Launch Fall 2011."

Well, facts are facts and Winter officially starts one week from today.

Draw your own conclusions.

More posts are forthcoming about what a mess Magna & Forest City have made of Gulfstream Park & The Village of Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach

Above, the U.S.-1 & S.E. 3rd Street entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida. August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

In response to all the MANY curious emails I've received since the horse racing season closed here in the Spring, from both overseas readers of the blog as well as ones here in South Florida and environs, yes, there will be more blog posts here in the coming weeks about what a mess I believe Magna Entertainment (MEC)/The Stronach Group & Forest City have made of the opportunity they had with Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village of Gulfstream Park retail complex.

Not that there was ever any doubt about my doing more posts on them, but...

Above, the U.S.-1 & S.E. 7th Street entrance to The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida.Hmm-m-m... is an upscale, outdoor shopping center in South Florida during the oppressively humid summer swelter of South Florida as hot or as wet as you can imagine? Yes. "And yet they built it that way on purpose?" Yes, again.

August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

I must admit that I'm continually surprised at how many people living quite a distance from me and the facilities in Hallandale Beach ask about how the facilities are doing; are they getting any better/worse?; and are there any known plans to make some drastic changes there that will make it more appealing to consumers.

Yes, lots of disappointed people that, like me, want the facilities to succeed, but are dumbstruck at how very poorly things have been planned and manged thus far.

Here's a hint: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

If you thought the new crew would usher in a new era of common sense AND smart, savvy strategic marketing -or even JUST common sense- you are very much mistaken.

Not that you would know that from the paucity of South Florida's news media's coverage of Gulfstream Park.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/57485/more-staffing-changes-at-gulfstream-park

As my friends and colleagues in the area know, I genuinely want the facilities to succeed, really I do, since it's better for everyone in the community if the facilities offer a good entertainment value for the dollar, one that that the public enjoys and is willing to spread through positive word-of-mouth advertising, the best kind there is for what they're offering up.

But just because I'm on record with wanting the facilities to succeed -NOT necessarily the not-too-bright corporate principals behind it- is no reason why I should avert my eyes from what's right in front of me.

What anyone paying close attention to details -and in particular, details that matter- and which positively or negatively affect consumer behavior and psychology would notice and remark upon.

In this case, it's NOT in a positive way.

Above, the Hallandale Beach Blvd. & S.E. 10th Avenue entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village of Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida. Storm clouds are brewing in more ways than one. (And do you see what I do?)

August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Seriously, at times, to use a perhaps over-used metaphor here on the blog, they're like a dog chasing its tail.

Sort of funny at first before you grow tired of the one-act nature of the comedy that ends with a whimper instead of a happy ending.

Here's a quick bit of free advice: Instead of worrying about extending the hours that certain of the bars in the complex can serve alcohol -the subject of last week's Hallandale Beach Planning & Zoning Advisory Board meeting, which I blew-off attending- so they can continue serving until 6 a.m., how about giving normal consumers, non-bar flies, some fun and reasonable entertainment choices on weekdays between 6 & 10 p.m.

Is that really too much to ask?

-----

http://www.bloodhorse.com/

Magna's bankruptcy, Frank Stronach, Gulfstream Park to be topics of Hallandale Beach City Comm.'s closed meeting Wednesday; night racing at Gulfstream

Above, the western entrance/exit of Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex on U.S.-1/S. Federal Highway & S.E. 3rd Street, Hallandale Beach, FL.
In the distance, two miles away on the beach are The Beach Club's three condo towers. February 10, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


Above, the Hallandale Beach Municipal Complex monument sign on U.S.-1/S. Federal Highway & S.E. 5th Street, Hallandale Beach, FL. Across the street is Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park.
February 11, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


February 11, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Above, the public notice I saw at Hallandale Beach City Hall last Friday morning regarding the Wednesday February 16th Hallandale Beach City Commission Special Meeting/ Executive Session, i.e. closed to the public, which is not expected to last more than 30 minutes.
It reads, in part,
RE: Magna Entertainment Corp. et al Bankruptcy litigation styled [Case No. 09-10720 (MFW)]

You can be excused for not knowing much of this given the extremely sketchy coverage of this in the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and local Miami TV newscasts.

What can't be excused is Magna's refusal to talk publicly and forthrightly to Hallandale Beach and Aventura residents about their tentative plans for occasional night racing next year, an important component of making the two facilities a more inviting place to spend time and money.

I personally support occasional night racing at Gulfstream Park, but with certain key requirements.

I'm quite familiar with how ridiculously successful night racing has proven to be in Louisville at Churchhill Downs, as I not only have large photos and myriad news articles about
how it all came to be so successful, but also have heard first-hand from numerous Louisville-area friends who have gotten used to going there at night, whereas they formerly only went for the larger purse races or The Kentucky Derby, of course.

But Louisville, a city I really love, in part from spending so much time there with friends and getting to know their neighborhood, is a very different consumer market than South Florida, due to the number of entertainment choices one has there, as well as the weather.

In Kentucky, the thoroughbred industry is still just that, an actual industry onto themselves, with a rich and complex culture and sense of tradition.

In the South Florida of 2011, horse racing is merely one of a number of entertainment diversions, and one that has come to be looked upon as NOT particularly inviting or fun, at least as Gulfstream has done it of late.

The number one rule of politics and entertainment is that you have to know (and understand) what your universe is, which is why the seemingly never-ending series of Magna blunders and screw-ups I've personally observed over the past seven years have seemed so unnecessary.

It wasn't rocket science, but it does require some forethought and careful consideration for how things actually look to potential customers, most of whom have no past history with you.

Among those requirements that I would insist upon for night racing would be for them to keep open the Aventura gate on N.E. 213th Street, near the large retail complex housing, among others, the Target, Fresh Foods and Best Buy, on those nights for southbound drivers, instead of forcing it ALL onto either Hallandale Beach Blvd. or U.S.-1.
Aventura must share the expected traffic burden, too.

Below, the road NOT taken.

Above, the southern entrance/exit of Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex on N.E. 213th Street, Aventura, FL.
Notice the obstacles placed in the road by Magna.
They DIDN'T get there by themselves, did they?


Magna will NOT get what they want entirely without getting OUR city govt.'s approval, yet they imperiously act like we don't matter, and that the only thing that does is their highly-paid lobbyists and mouthpieces in Tallahassee, who have been busy poring money into certain elected officials favorite causes.
Not that you have read or seen that in the local South Florida news media.

For those of you who have asked why I haven't written anything critical about Gulfstream Park and The Village at Gulfstream Park this racing year -and there are quite a few of you, including some heavy-duty racing fans overseas- I understand your natural curiosity, but I've been busy writing and documenting what I've seen and heard.

Be patient and rest assured, there is a lot of material and facts I intend to share with you in the coming days and weeks, complete with damning photos.

Magna's longstanding refusal to employ any innovative thinking or even learn from their (many) past mistakes, some of which have yet to be resolved this year from last year, once again causes me to wish that someone else was running things over there.
The sense of clueless-ness and obliviousness there must end if those properties are ever going to be successful -and FUN!

-------

Daily Racing Form

02/01/2011 9:57AM
MID shareholders agree to transfer racetracks to Stronach

By Matt Hegarty

Frank Stronach has moved one step closer to taking control of the troubled racing assets his publicly traded companies have acquired and failed to turn around over the past 13 years.

Groups representing the majority shareholders of the company that owns the assets, MI Developments, have agreed to vote in favor of a proposal that would require Stronach to give up control of the company in exchange for the racing and gambling properties, according to an announcement from MI Developments released late on Monday night. Stronach currently controls 57 percent of the voting stock of MI Developments through an unusual dual-class share structure that would be abandoned as a result of the deal.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.drf.com/news/mid-shareholders-agree-transfer-racetrack s-stronach

In the near-future, I'll list some other recent well-written articles or columns I've read that have proven very helpful to me in understanding the pertinent facts and long-term implications of the bankruptcy involving Magna Entertainment Corp., the role of MI Developments and the future of Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino.

Secretariat, starring Diane Lane & John Malkovich, opening October 8th, from Walt Disney Pictures; Wither Gulfstream Park Race Track?

Girls and horses?
That's a license to print money.
Always has been, always will be.

Secretariat by William Nack
http://www.hyperionmedianet.com/web/showpage/bookpage.aspx?program_id=3131354&type=lead

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/secretariat/

And featuring the return of Fred Thompson to feature films!

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKmuvjL2cVw



Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont Stakes, winning by 25 lengths to win the Triple Crown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoFquax2F-k

Amanda "AJ" Michalka - "It's Who You Are" Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kShUvrr7QVU




http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/secretariat/videos/making_of/index.html


Above, the Gulfstream Park street sign for the north-south road from the grandstand to Hallandale Beach Blvd., and the north entrance monument sign on U.S.-1/South Federal Highway.
October 5, 2010 photos by South Beach Hoosier.

I've been thinking about this Secretariat film quite a lot the last few weeks as I walk or drive thru the empty NW parking lot of Gulfstream Park Race Track, not far from my home, which I take as a short-cut when doing errands, grabbing something to eat at one of my usual spots or heading over to the beach, which is less than two miles away.

(Anything to avoid the notorious red-light surveillance camera on north-bound U.S.-1 at Hallandale Beach Blvd., which the HB City Commission installed, supposedly, for safety purposes, but which has turned-out to be nothing but a cash cow for the city's coffers, as well over 95% of all tickets issued thus far are for right turn on red violations, NOT for running the intersection, the purpose cited. Because of local area driver's great reluctance to turn too quickly now, east-bound traffic is often stalled for two or three blocks along U.S.-1, with no alternatives open to you but the race track short-cut.
Despite the public disclosure of the statistics, financial and otherwise -city revenue from citations for the month of July 2010 for that one camera was $119,613.987, of which the overwhelming majority were for right turn on red violations- the HB City Commission doesn't care, and is now expanding the use of red-light cameras. Not for safety purposes, mind you, but strictly to get their hands on more money! It's that simple!)


October 5, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Looking east at the three Gulfstream Park dorms, and in the distance, on the beach at A1A, the three condos that comprise The Beach Club complex.

As always, I have my trusty camera with me, ever-ready to snap a shot that captures my fancy. But after several years of being back in South Florida, after being so long up in the Chicago and Washington, D.C. areas, having been so geographically close to this race track, being in or near it every single day fro seven years, I almost have come to take it for granted.
Almost.

The same way I became blase walking from my home on Capitol Hill at night during the summer, after I first moved to Washington in 1988, to nearby places you may have heard of.

First past the U.S. Capitol, along the pathways of The National Mall, past the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, past the Washington Monument and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 'till I was finally at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Even when it's hot as hell during the summer at night, which is always since there's no Gulfstream breeze, the place is so magnetic, the sense of history so strong and palpable, that it's hard not to get wistful, reflective and philosophical.

For the first few years I lived in the Washington area, it was all so terribly exciting, but eventually, the excitement of the history that is all around me turns into a rather mundane routine, except for when friends and family came to visit and it became alive for me all over again, especially when I was with my adorable nieces, who lived in suburban Maryland.

The everyday existence and hustle -and sheer tension- of living in the Washington, D.C. area really wears you out, so after awhile, once I'd moved across the Potomac to Arlington County (VA), since I wasn't one of those person with a summer house share in Delaware, every so often, when I was free on weekends, I started going with friends down to Charlottesville and other places in Virginia where the sense and pull of America's early history is still both strong and palpable. (Or out thru the hills to West Virgina.)

I've always liked being in places where I couldn't take things for granted, though to be sure, every time I ever walked past The White House on the Pennsylvania Avenue side, so many thousands and thousands of times over those 15 years, I never took THAT view for granted.
Not once.
But I saw plenty of people who did, and I never wanted to be one of those people.

So, all that being said, and knowing that I'm someone who has always been a voracious reader and a person who particularly loves history, and American cultural history at that, one of my biggest disappointments living here in Hallandale Beach has been witnessing the way the current owners of Gulfstream Race Track, MAGNA Entertainment, have allowed some of its history, beauty and majesty to recede.

See a glimpse of what the race track once looked like at:
http://www.cardcow.com/search3.php?substring=gulfstream%20park

October 5, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Looking south from the NW parking lot towards the grandstand and the Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex.

Churchill Downs would never tolerate the way things are routinely done here, and neither would Disney or Universal or any other consumer-oriented attraction that wants visitors to spend money.
I suppose that's precisely why I get so very angry when I see how poorly-maintained parts of the admittedly huge facility are, and how unattractively it presents itself to visitors.

It's almost like the MAGNA people take it for granted that people will come.
But they aren't, are they?

Nope, the Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex is far from a success, yet at least some of the reasons for that discomforting reality could hardly be more obvious.

Personally, as I've previously written here, I can't fathom how you could own that place and allow a large Gulfstream Park advertising sign that you have that is visible to busy U.S.-1 traffic to be unlit at night for years, yet they do.
I've shown you photos of that very sign here many times, haven't I, as well as the plant overgrowth that obstructed some of the signage?
It's not a secret, it's common knowledge.

I've often written in this space about my litany of well-founded criticisms of Gulfstream Park, complete with my photos to highlight and buttress my contentions, self-evident facts that have been well-nigh invisible to the very people who actually ought to have been MOST concerned with what customers actually thought about them: MAGNA Entertainment.

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Gulfstream%20Park%20Race%20Track%20and%20Casino
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Village%20at%20Gulfstream%20Park

Yet they continue to be blasé and ignore what is right in front of them, seemingly content to have nobody in charge of Quality Control, someone able to whip the place into shape so that consumers find it inviting and interesting and FUN.
It simply isn't ANY FUN at all.
It's the opposite of fun -it repels!

That months-old promise I made here once to discuss some constructive suggestions for improving things at Gulfstream Park will finally be posted soon, along with some helpful aids to hammer those points home.

But I wanted to say now while I could that my genuine hope is that the great success of the Secretariat film will do something -anything!- to shake the MAGNA folks out of their sleepwalking stupor, and realize once and for all that if they aren't in it to win, they need to sell the place to someone who will manage this historic facility with the foresight, intelligence, care and marketing savvy it deserves.
All of those factors are currently MIA.

I'll also have a lot to say soon about the prospects of night racing at Gulfstream Park, too, as I've been sitting on that subject since last year while getting more and more information from reliable sources.

Though I am personally in favor of a racing schedule that includes limited night racing, as usual, the folks at MAGNA are completely f-ing botching this possibility thru their careless words and actions, seemingly oblivious to their need to first communicate openly and honestly with the citizens and communities most directly affected: Hallandale Beach, Aventura, Hollywood and Broward County.
They haven't done that.

Frankly, MAGNA operates like all they need to do to secure the ability to hold night racing is to curry favor with enough Florida State Senators, esp. those from the Panhandle, perhaps thru their favorite lobbyists, and magically, after they snap their fingers, it'll just happen.
NOPE!

For starters, the reality is that are looking at first having to hold lots of public meetings, and they are going to have to completely STOP with the transparent half-truths and lies, and actually level with the citizens who already live near here.
Night racing is NOT something that MAGNA is entitled to have simply for asking for it.

Personally, I'm starting to believe that the best thing for everyone concerned would be for there to be no night racing at Gulfstream Park until after MAGNA sells the race track and associated property to an entity with the financial resources to run it in a creative, first-class manner, so that it really is a FUN place to be.
That is NOT what Gulfstream Park is now.

http://www.gulfstreampark.com/

Even more troubling news for beleaguered Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino in Hallandale Beach and its owner, Frank Stronach

Above, May 25, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier of the Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino sign facing towards south-bound U.S.-1/Federal Highway, off Hibiscus Street in Hallandale Beach.

I've noted previously on this blog with both dismay and incredulity the self-evident fact that Gulfstream Park/Magna Entertainment Corp. has consistently been so negligent about properly maintaining this valuable property that it has inspired well-deserved ridicule in the community.
For instance, as I've mentioned previously, the spotlights on the ground that are supposed to illuminate the sign above at night haven't worked since 2008, and the light on the left of the picture has not even had an actual bulb since 2009, which is why this sign on a major South Florida road is pitch black at night. Not exactly the smartest marketing decision, no?

Frankly, it's only been because I've been so busy writing about other matters, including the community fight against the Diplomat LAC proposal and the attempted shoe-horning of a Ben Gamla charter high school into a single-family neighborhood that I didn't run numerous posts here utilizing the dozens and dozens of photos I have that clearly illustrate how very poorly this so-called entertainment center has been operated and maintained.

Despite having the better part of an entire year, and knowing how crucial it was that they appear to be on top of things, Gulfstream/MEC couldn't even mange to have their own electronic message boards on both U.S.-1 and Hallandale Beach Blvd. constructed and operating before the racing season opened in January, which made it look shabby and third-class.
This embarrassing snails pace of theirs, almost a sense of obliviousness, also meant that the message signs were NOT available to effectively promote the retail shops that were open over the holiday season, when they needed all the help they could get. It was weeks into the racing season before the electronic message signs were up and working properly.

To any reasonable observer, it was almost like they were considered an after-thought, and not a tool to be properly utilized, but then look how they waste the sign they already had?
This very unprofessional laissez-faire attitude towards aesthetics, maintenance and marketing raises serious questions in my mind and many others as to whether or not the people currently running Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino are fit for the job ahead.
Above and below, May 30, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier of the monument signs and U.S.-1 entrance to both Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex.



I received a link to this very troubling Toronto Star story just before 10 p.m. Thursday night as a result of a my "Hallandale Beach" Google Alert.

This continues the long streak of bad financial news for Gulfstream Park owner Frank Stronach, some of which I've detailed on this blog, and this latest news is perhaps the most unsettling, though getting some firm financial numbers may prove quite elusive until the trial that's described below begins.

When the largest employer in the city is having severe financial problems, and some vocal shareholders want to go to court to force the sale of the main asset and element of the enterprise, the Racetrack, there's more than enough reason to be legitimately concerned.

Still, any legal action that intends to pursue, among other things, "a declaration that the company made “misleading” public statements" is not music to Hallandale Beach taxpayers ears, given the amount of city taxpayer's money that has walked across U.S.-1 from HB City Hall to the enterprises located over there.

It's time for someone at Gulfstream to publicly show some long overdue gumption and common sense and finally leave the PR histrionics behind for a change, and instead, be straight and address the HB community's reasonable concerns about its future as a viable racetrack, rather than continuing to engage in their current unsuccessful "no comment" routine, which satisfies nobody and just irritates people who are paying attention.

Hearing "no comment" too many more times in the near future will inevitably lead to even louder public doubts and media commentary, and a corresponding taxpayer/customer vote of "no confidence" with their feet and wallets & purses for both the racetrack and retail complex, even though they are, of course, legally separate entities.

Frankly, I was a little surprised that a newspaper as large as the Toronto Star is still using an artists rendering in their article so long after Gulfstream Park was re-done, and the initial stage of The Village at Gulfstream Park (VAGP) opened -in November.

Also, if you look carefully, most of the rendering below is not of Gulfstream, per se, that Stronach & Co. own, but rather of the VAGP retail area that Gulfstream is a partner to but NOT the owner of, per state law.

I may just have to send the Star some of my new photos of the complex for their records.

--------

Toronto Star
Shareholders sue MI Developments Group of U.S. investors claim Stronach and directors improperly used MID to prop up money-losing Magna Entertainment.
July 7, 2010

Tony Van Alphen Business Reporter

Big investors in MI Developments Inc. have sued the company, controlling shareholder Frank Stronach and numerous directors for their role in allegedly propping up his money-losing horse racing venture before and after its collapse last year.

In seeking millions of dollars in compensation, five U.S.-based investment firms say in a statement of claim that MI engaged in a “myriad of connected related party loans and other transactions” with racetrack and gambling operator Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) to ensure its assets remained under Stronach’s control and not sold to third parties.

The sentence that really jumps out at you is this one towards the middle of the story:
Some of the investment firms have complained about MI’s continuing heavy support of MEC for years and pressed the board to divest the horse racing assets and make the company a pure real estate play.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/833230--shareholders-sue-mi-developments

See also:
http://www.thevillageatgulfstreampark.com/