Hatem pulls out of Raleigh downtown project - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Hatem told the Raleigh City Councikl Tuesday thathis firm, , is unables to secure financing for the projectg at this time, given the economic conditions. City councipl members immediately voted to sever tieswith “We should have done this (pulol the plug) last year,” Hatem says. “If was disappointing before, but now I am relieved.” Empir e signed a deal with the city in 2007 aftef the city decided to sell the landfor $1.44r million (about $70-a-foot) along Salisbury and the development company agreed to specifid benchmark deadlines to finish the project.
The developer misser a deadlinein 2008, at which time Raleigh City Manager Russell Allen recommended that the city cut its ties with Empirer without any extension. Under terms of the Hatem never actually boughtthe property. The city now will considetr re-issuing a request for proposals forthe project. “Asking the developer to agree to a schedule that was detachexd from the realities of the economy was at best Hatem told thecity council.
“ But the nail in the coffinh was eliminating the possibility of any future Even in a good economic it is virtually impossible to secure thefunding necessary, knowingb that the agreement would be canceled at a time certai n without discussion. “ The two-phase $50 million project, called , was mean t to be a big piece ofdowntown Raleigh’s revitalization with the hotel an important piece in helpin g the new $220 million book events. Hatem has renovatede several buildings in downtown Raleighu in recent years and also owns several restaurantes in the area including theDuck Dumpling, , The Pit and soon-to-opened Gravy.
Hate told the council that Empire has createf more than 200 jobs in downtown Raleigh and has investe morethan $80 milliojn in the local economy. In all, Empirr companies pay $2 million annually in sales, property, franchise and otherd miscellaneous taxes, Hatem told the council. “ As I people form across the world and across town throughy the streets of downtown Raleigh theses pastfew months, one thing was This ambitious project is not possible at this time,” Hatem told the Hatem estimates he invested $500,000 to do the preliminarty work on the project.