From LiberTEA Racine comes the tale of local developer Tom Tousis, who’s been trying to no avail to put something in the black hole on Washington Avenue in West Racine just west of West Boulevard. The land has been vacant for several years ever since the city purchased it and razed the existing buildings and hoped someone would come along and transform it into something productive.
Here’s some background via the Racine Post on the central planners that are turning this into a clusterfark.
Here’s a description of what the Tousis development would involve, already amended to appease the anti-development crowd and local snobs.
It still isn’t enough. Apparently the Tousis group hasn’t appeased Ald. Jim Spangenberg, who represents the district in which the property is located.
Some group has taken it upon itself to mail postcards to the residents of the district asking if they’d had enough of the eyesore that the empty lot has become. The Racine Post has a JPEG of the front and back of the card here.
The post card shows a vacant lot in the 3100 block of Washington Avenue on one side and on the other side speaks in favor of Tom Tousis’s proposed $5 million development, which includes a grocery store, restaurant, bank and gas station. The post card singles out Spangenberg as an opponent of the project and asks people to call him to voice their support.
Spangenberg called the post card “sleazy” and inaccurate. For starters, he said, the post card states Tousis wants to build a grocery store, restaurant and bank, but makes no mention of the gas station.
Spangenberg also contested the post card’s claim that lot has been “an eyesore for nine years.” Buildings in the 3100 block of Washington Avenue were demolished in 2006 to make way for new development. This is the third year the lot, which houses the West Racine Farmers Market, has been vacant.
“This is sleaze,” Spangenberg said, adding that he’s up for a fight if Tousis wants to challenge him over the development.
“They don’t know who they’re messing with,” Spangenberg said.
In other words, we have yet another arrogant elected official who forgets just exactly who works for whom trying to demonize citizens exercising their First Amendment right to free speech while encouraging others to gt involved.
Mr. Spangenberg, you and the other white collar criminals on the City Council work for us, not the other way around. Same with Mayor McCheese. Same with the city bureaucracy, which could shut down for a week and no one would notice.
And yes, I’ll use the phrase “white collar criminals” to describe all of you because you sit around and suck down our money and at best do nothing to improve things and at worst make them even worse. You act like being in office is an entitlement. All of you should be limited to two terms, one in office and the other in jail.
Spangenberg sounds like the Petulent Child in Chief, whining when citizens organize (hint: that’s community organizing, Jim) and try to get something positive done in the community.
And yes, the block has been an eyesore even before the Redevelopment Authority took control and razed the decrepit buildings in 2006. Many were vacant or had less-than-desirable tenants, one of which was a piercings and tattoo parlor.
Says LiberTEA’s Downtown Brown with a heavy hand of snark:
Shame on you Tom how dare you try to do business in this town. Did you not the read signs on the way into town. Unless you are willing to open a business designed by the City council which it has deemed appropriate, in it’s infinite wisdom.
You see Tom our City Council, (which was going to “help” historic neighbors decide which shingles and window treatments they should consider appropriate). Has evidently created a new product, It’s called “Business in a Box”. This where a City Council creates the business YOU should build, YOU simply go in with your big stack of money and they will design your a business for YOU! Now don’t expect to be allowed to sell anything profitable, or that will make your shop convenient, like petroleum or alcohol.
You see Tom our city is losing residents, has a high unemployment problem, and opening anything other than yet another Dollar Store, is considered to “Elitist”.
It may be snark, but it’s also damned accurate. Racine is a ghost town, kept alive only by S. C. Johnson Wax. It’s been poorly run, poorly managed forever. No vision whatsoever. High unemployment, loss of jobs, lack of any economic development, skyrocketing property taxes, lousy schools. You name it. It would need an upgrade to be considered an upholstered toilet. Maybe it’s an upholstered Port-a-John.
We have a mayor right out of the Empty Suit brigade from Project Hope and Change. By the way, how’s that Hope and Change thing workin’ out for ya? Worst. President. Ever. But I digress. Mayor Dickert has a 10 year plan. A 10 year plan for what? To keep getting re-elected?
When we had a chance to replace Mayor McPervert, we had some legitimate outside of the box choices. However, the game was rigged so that the insiders would prevail. The people who have been part of the staus quo here forever. The more things change, the more they remain the same. That should be Racine’s official city motto.
Tom Tousis and his family have run successful businesses in Racine for years and have provided jobs for local residents. His father, Gus, is a long-time local restauranteur.
Why are The Powers That Be so opposed to this project Could it be they want the empty space which features only a farmers market? Or is it only certain kinds of businesses that the pinhead elitist lefty snobs want? Green, PC businesses that the pinhead elitist lefty snobs can be proud of, but none of which actually make money.
It’s this type of opposition by the powr structure in Racine that has turned this place into the aforementioned upholstered Port-a-John.
