http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2011-03-10/story/gilman-boathouse-backers-hear-property-could-have-big-benefits-st
Oh, the irony. When buying the MacDonald property (now the Gilman Waterfront Park) for $1.9 million was the only way to prevent a private buyer from building a hotel to compete with then Mayor Jerry Brandon's historic dump, the downtowner buisness owners could not buy it fast enough.
Now that the city has bought the Gilman Boathouse property with an eye towards a private developer building a modern hotel, the downtowners are all for private investment and no government "dabbling in real estate."
Hell, the DMA can't even compete with a damned hot dog stand! A pox upon them all.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
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Having just spent a small fortune renovating the Riverview Hotel, I do not consider it a dump by any stretch of the imagination. It isn't modern like a new hotel. We do have modern bathrooms and solar air conditioning, however. It shall always remain a labor of love, as with any old building. It's not making us rich, but it does make us happy. Many wonderful people pass through these doors because of it's age. Jerry Brandon's Grandparents and family lived here, as well as his parents. Jerry Brandon's father was born upstairs. Jerry and his siblings, were raised in the hotel. And, now I (Jerry's wife) have raised my children, and grandchildren here. Can a modern new hotel ever say that? An 18 room historic family owned hotel isn't a qualified comparison for a modern 100 room corporate hotel. Visitors will still come here because the faces behind the desk are part of the fabric of the generations of history behind the building. Personally, I welcome new business in downtown St. Marys, and midtown, for it will stimulate the economy. What I don't want to see is government putting private business, out of business. For example, The Southern Junction, a 240 capacity convention and conference hall, owned and operated by private citizens, or the Cumberland Island Inn. Should the government be allowed to duplicate the services of private business? Jay, if you really think the Riverview Hotel is such an eyesore, go to the city council and lobby for it to be torn down. If it's not the hotel, and just simply my husband you dislike, let's agree to disagree and move past this.
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