Bicycle Apartments Groundbreaking – Where were the Mayor and Council?

On May 7th, 2013, Trinitas Ventures held the ground-breaking ceremony for the Bicycle Apartments. Demolition will begin in June. Janet Smith attended on behalf of the neighbors as a good will gesture to show that we wish Trinitas success with this project. They have gone out of their way to address the neighbors’ concerns and have demonstrated a willingness to work with the neighbors to ensure that the project is acceptable. We appreciate their sincere efforts and the changes that were made in response to concerns raised (fencing to prevent cutting through private property, removing balconies on the east side of the building close to Hillsborough Street homes, moving the development 50 feet into the RCD to provide a bigger buffer for neighbors, hiring a local landscaper to provide the buffer planting plan and offering to place plantings on neighbors’ properties if additional screening is needed). These are good guys and likely the best developer we could have to work with.  The Council seemed to want this project to be approved very badly. They were clearly responsive to pressure from the Downtown Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce, and students.  They rebuffed all requests from residents to take a step back and look at the impacts of this huge (608 bed) student development on the larger area.  Clearly they did not wish to lose this opportunity.  So, my question is – where were they at the ground-breaking? I should think they would have been anxious to attach their faces to a project they felt was so important. And, if they weren’t willing to show their support for the project after they approved it, then why were they supporting it so strongly before? The mind boggles.