Promenade Version 2.0
In response to Toll Brothers’ legal action to block construction of the Promenade, Charter Properties is coming back to the table with a slightly modified version of Phase I of the Promenade.
Toll Brothers has indicated that they are comfortable with the Promenade plans that had been approved in 2000 and that the crux of their case against the Promenade and the City of Dublin is centered on the Planning Commission and City Council’s approval of Shared Parking and to a lesser extent not receiving notice of public hearings. (Note – here’s an ironically titled article co-written by Toll Brothers’ lead counsel, Timothy Hoban, advising on “A Proactive Approach to Avoiding Disputes”).
Based on Toll Brothers’ primary concern noted above, Charter Properties is expected to bring revised plans back to the Dublin Planning Commission within the next month to remove one level from the Mercantile Building to eliminate the need for the Planning Commission to approve Shared Parking – going right to the heart of Toll Brothers’ case against the City of Dublin.
If the Promenade Version 2.0 plans are approved by the Planning Commission at their July 14th meeting, then construction could start as early as 2010 with the Promenade opening in 2011. The future of the Promenade will likely hinge on the response from Dublin residents at the next public hearing that are for or against the ClubSport, Mercantile, and parking structure buildings.
The Around Dublin Team will be happy to read letters on behalf of residents that are not able to attend the next public hearing for the Promenade. Simply email your letters to arounddublin@gmail.com.
8:04 AM on June 14th, 2009
I was wondering how removing one level of the mercantile building effects the shared parking issue. Could you briefly explain the shared parking argument other than a 4 story garage.
12:02 PM on June 14th, 2009
This is just great, there's going less planned parking for the Promenade and an overflow in the Courtyard/Terrace's street parking during peak ClubSport hours in the evenings. This is an excellent modification–NOT!!!
12:04 PM on June 14th, 2009
I believe what they are trying to do is to reduce the retail/restaurant space so as to reduce the parking requirement. It also depends on the proportion between restaurant SF and Retail SF, since restaurant requires a higher parking ratio, which is usually 1/100SF. I like the idea of scaling back the size, especially in this uncertain economy. I would rather have a smaller mall fully occupied. I am sure they will come up with a solution.
9:56 PM on June 14th, 2009
How about just telling Toll brothers to go screw themselves. Why should we residents have a delay to the Promenade just because of Toll brothers petulance.
9:37 AM on June 15th, 2009
This is great news!
8:32 AM on June 21st, 2009
Comment removed per request of submitter by Around Dublin Team.
8:34 AM on June 21st, 2009
Comment removed per request of submitter by Around Dublin Team.
5:17 PM on June 21st, 2009
Comment removed per request of submitter by Around Dublin Team.
9:34 PM on June 28th, 2009
My name is Tom Argyris and I am Regional President of Toll Brothers in California. I have read several of the blogs on this website including blogs by James Harrington, which contain information that we believe to be incorrect. I would like to set the record straight.
Mr. Harrington entered into an agreement to purchase a new home from Toll Brothers. In that agreement, Toll Brothers agreed to build Mr. Harrington's home to his specifications, and for his part, agreed to secure financing to buy it. Although there were delays in construction which allowed Mr. Harrington to get out of of his agreement, he decided to proceed with the purchase of the new home so Toll Brothers continued to build his customized new home. Unfortunately when the home was completed to his specifications, Mr. Harrington did not close. He reports in his blog that he no longer qualified for a loan for which he had been prequalified before. What Mr. Harrington does not explain fully are the reasons he was unable to secure a loan. We believe that the personal financial condition of our buyers is their personal business and not the subject of blogs, so it is our preference not to disclose those details here.
We are very disappointed that Mr. Harrington was not able to complete his purchase. Unfortunately, after he failed to close Toll Brothers was left with a vacant home to sell. To defray the costs to Toll Brothers in such an event , Mr. Harrington agreed that Toll Brothers could use his deposit. As is often the case when a buyer backs out of a sale, the cost to Toll Brothers in this case (even after selling the home to another buyer) exceed the amount of Mr.Harrigton's deposit. Nonetheless, Toll Brothers is entitled to no more because that is the agreement that we made. We strive to stand by our agreements.
Lastly, Toll Brothers does not have Mr. Harrington's deposti. It is in escrow. Although we believe that Toll Brothers is entitled to it, if Mr. Harrington disputes this, he agreed to submit this disagreement to a neutral third party to decide who is correct. Only if that neutral third party agrees with Toll Brothers will Toll Brothers be able to retain the deposit. If he or she does not agree with Toll Brothers, then Mr. Harrington will receive his deposit back. We think this is a fair process, and we will accept the neutral third party's decision even if we disagree with it.
We are very disappointed that Mr. Harrington has decided to spread misinformation about Toll Brothers. We are committed to building high quality homes, and when there are problems with our homes, we stand behind them. We are committed to treating our customers fairly. And we are committed to standing by our agreements. We have honored these commitments to Mr. Harrington, and we will continue to do so until this matter is fully resolved.
10:15 AM on June 29th, 2009
Comment removed per request of submitter by Around Dublin Team.
11:51 AM on June 29th, 2009
Tom Argyris: So sorry you have to deal with this guy. Thanks for entering the conversation on this blog and offering a clear, calm explanation of the situation. As a potential Toll home buyer, I've been concerned about some comments here, but so far my encounters with Toll have been positive on the whole. Thank you. —Marie C.
5:57 PM on June 29th, 2009
My friend had the similar experience with Mr Harrington.
She and her husband made almost a quater million a year. However, her loan was disapproved by Toll Mortgate. In addition, instead of 20% down payment required per the agreement, Toll Mortgage asked my friend to put 25% percent. Toll finally took the deposit of 30K. I used to think Toll has a very good reputation. That's why I recommended my friend to proceed with the purchase. However, the result is that my friend had to hire a lawyer to negotiate with Toll and never got back the deposit.
8:17 PM on June 29th, 2009
I would be willing to bet that "Marie C." is some how affiliated with Toll Brothers. Any takers?
1:51 PM on June 30th, 2009
Anon 8:17: Grow up.
10:25 PM on July 11th, 2009
I would be willing to bet that “Anon 1:51″ is some how affiliated with
Toll Brothers. Any takers?
10:25 PM on July 13th, 2009
There is a time and place for “I hate Toll Brothers and so should you!” and that place is not here, on this specific story.. This is a story about The promenade, not about Toll and your personal issues. Please stop hijacking every thread you can.
4:49 AM on July 14th, 2009
Hello All – just a reminder that the Planning Commission’s public hearing to approve the Promenade’s new look (2 story Mercantile building, no shared parking) will be held tonight at 7pm in the City Council Chambers.
If you aren’t able to attend, please email me at arounddublin@gmail.com if you have anything you’d like me to read to the Planning Commission.
Thx, John Z.
1:56 PM on July 15th, 2009
I saw that the planning commission approved the new proposal. Just curious where this leaves us in terms of a time frame to start building?
2:11 PM on July 15th, 2009
Hi Brian,
Your question and many more related to what happened at the July 14, 2009 Planning Commission meeting will be answered in an upcoming article John is currently working on. Of course, John will also offer his prediction about the next steps for Toll Brothers, the City, and Charter Properties. This ongoing chess game is far from over. Please stay tuned. Thank you for your patience.
9:36 PM on July 27th, 2009
This was taken from the Terraces Newsletter:
“As you may know the Club Sport development application is up for reconsideration by the city of Dublin. On Tuesday 7/14/09 the planning commison took public comment on the proposed application. Hereafter the Dublin City Counicl will be considering the development merits. The proposed development is west of the Terraces bldg 7 on the property commonly known as Village center. Toll had objected to the approvals due to primarly to the lack of public notice and inconsistencies with prior plan approvals.”
In other words this was wrriten by Toll since they are in fact in bed with Massingham!
Toll never mentioned their speacil intrests.
Why would they stall the project when it would benefit their sales!