Press Release:
Every night in downtown Providence, we see the darkened windows of our state’s tallest
building. It’s a sad sign of failed development policies. Recently, the developers announced that
they are going to hold the building empty for yet another year, waiting for a massive payout from
the taxpayers. What a better way to bully Rhode Island into giving them subsidies than to insist
on keeping the largest and most recognizable building in Rhode Island completely empty?
In 2008, the building was bought by David Sweetser and High Rock Development LLC for $33
million dollars. In a bid to lower their taxes, the developers are now arguing that the building has
"no value." In 2013, Sweetser asked for $75 million in state assistance and tax breaks, and each
year, he comes back to ask again.
Rhode Islanders should not be held responsible for bad business decisions. And we should
subsidize affordable housing, not luxury apartments that further segregate the rich from the
poor. With the massive expansion of the agency that did 38 Studios, more and more Rhode Island
corporations are coming to expect big checks from the state for any developments they do. And
more and more developers are holding development hostage to bargain for public bailouts. It’s
time to take action.
That’s why, continuing our strong stance against corporate welfare, we call on our political
leaders to reject any subsidies for the Superman Building. We need to send a clear message that
holding the building empty to extort money won’t work. Until the developer gets the message,
the building will remain vacant.
We ask Sweetser to either develop the building or sell it to someone who can. The people of
Rhode Island will not be bullied into giving absurd amounts of money to bail out a corporation’s
mistakes. We can’t let this Massachusetts developer take advantage of us by using enormous
tax subsidies to build unaffordable luxury apartments. Spending $75 million on corporate welfare
for luxury apartments is unethical. Less than 5 years ago, the state of Rhode Island gave $75
million dollars to 38 Studios. We ask that we not make that mistake again.
Every night in downtown Providence, we see the darkened windows of our state’s tallest
building. It’s a sad sign of failed development policies. Recently, the developers announced that
they are going to hold the building empty for yet another year, waiting for a massive payout from
the taxpayers. What a better way to bully Rhode Island into giving them subsidies than to insist
on keeping the largest and most recognizable building in Rhode Island completely empty?
In 2008, the building was bought by David Sweetser and High Rock Development LLC for $33
million dollars. In a bid to lower their taxes, the developers are now arguing that the building has
"no value." In 2013, Sweetser asked for $75 million in state assistance and tax breaks, and each
year, he comes back to ask again.
Rhode Islanders should not be held responsible for bad business decisions. And we should
subsidize affordable housing, not luxury apartments that further segregate the rich from the
poor. With the massive expansion of the agency that did 38 Studios, more and more Rhode Island
corporations are coming to expect big checks from the state for any developments they do. And
more and more developers are holding development hostage to bargain for public bailouts. It’s
time to take action.
That’s why, continuing our strong stance against corporate welfare, we call on our political
leaders to reject any subsidies for the Superman Building. We need to send a clear message that
holding the building empty to extort money won’t work. Until the developer gets the message,
the building will remain vacant.
We ask Sweetser to either develop the building or sell it to someone who can. The people of
Rhode Island will not be bullied into giving absurd amounts of money to bail out a corporation’s
mistakes. We can’t let this Massachusetts developer take advantage of us by using enormous
tax subsidies to build unaffordable luxury apartments. Spending $75 million on corporate welfare
for luxury apartments is unethical. Less than 5 years ago, the state of Rhode Island gave $75
million dollars to 38 Studios. We ask that we not make that mistake again.
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