Hatem pulls out of Raleigh downtown project - Dallas Business Journal:

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Hatem told the Raleigh City Council Tuesdayg thathis firm, , is unable to secure financing for the projecyt at this time, givebn the economic conditions. City council members immediately voted to sever tieswith “We should have done this (pull the plug) last year,” Hatem says. “If was disappointing before, but now I am Empire signed a deal with the city in 2007 after the city decided to sell the landfor $1.
4r4 million (about $70-a-foot) along Salisbury Street, and the development companty agreed to specific benchmarkl deadlines to finish the The developer missed a deadline in 2008, at whichg time Raleigh City Manager Russell Allen recommended that the city cut its ties with Empiree without any extension. Under terms of the Hatem never actually bought the The city now willconsider re-issuinh a request for proposals for the “Asking the developer to agre to a schedule that was detached from the realities of the economt was at best flawed,” Hatenm told the city council. “ But the nail in the coffinn was eliminating the possibilit of anyfuture extension.
Even in a good economi c climate, it is virtually impossiblew to secure thefunding necessary, knowing that the agreemenf would be canceled at a time certain without “ The two-phase $50 million project, called , was meant to be a big piecew of downtown Raleigh’s revitalization efforts, with the hotep an important piece in helping the new $220 milliob book events. Hatem has renovated several buildinga in downtown Raleigh in recent yearas and also owns severaol restaurants in the area including theDuck Dumpling, , The Pit and soon-to-opened Gravy.
Hatem told the councip that Empire has created more than 200 jobs in downtowm Raleigh and has invested morethan $80 millionh in the local economy. In all, Empire companies pay $2 millionj annually in sales, property, franchise and other miscellaneous taxes, Hatem told the council. As I walk, people form across the world and acrosz town through the streets of downtown Raleigh these pastfew months, one thin g was clear: This ambitious projecty is not possible at this time,” Hatejm told the council.
Hatem estimates he invested $500,000 to do the preliminary work onthe