The Sunday Post - November 8, 2026: $57 Million or Less, Washington What? Round Two, and a Mall That Came Back
A weekly report from Councilor Michael-Paul Hart — Building the Smartest City in America.
Volume 2, Issue 45
It Gets Built Either Way
Tomorrow the Council's Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee hears the DC BLOX tax abatement. If you want to speak, for or against, this is the time to do it.
Because the site sits in a TIF district, the full Council takes the final vote on December 7, and there is no public comment at that meeting. Tomorrow is the only public hearing.
The committee meets Monday, November 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the City-County Building.
Something changed since I last wrote.
The community payment doubled, from about $15 million to about $30 million.
But here is the part I most want people to understand.
The data center gets built whether or not the abatement passes.
The site is already zoned for it. This vote is not about whether a data center comes to the east side. It is about what the east side gets when it does.
With the abatement, DC BLOX builds both buildings. Between property taxes and community payments, the City and the surrounding community receive about $57 million over ten years.
Without it, they still build the first building. But the taxes on one building, with no community payments, come to less than that.
I know there are people who are opposed, and I have read every email. Councilor Nielsen, who has been a great partner of mine on the east side, opposes it too, and I respect that.
But I keep coming back to the math. If the building is coming either way, I want the version that pays the most back to the neighborhood.
Come tomorrow and be heard.
Washington What? Round Two
Two weeks ago I told you why I wasn't buying the $5 billion resort proposal for Washington Square. This week, the people behind it and I went back and forth on Hammer and Nigel.
They made a couple of claims I want to address.
They said the mall does not have a legal address, and that they are working that out before they buy it. That is not true. The mall is open and has businesses operating in it right now. You cannot operate without an address.
So I asked a simpler question. If you have investors lined up behind a $5 billion plan, why not buy the building that is for sale right now? The old Macy's is on the market today.
They did not have an answer.
The clip is above. Listen for yourself.
My position has not changed. Land control, financing, and a real petition. Until those exist, it is a presentation.
A Mall That Came Back
On Thursday I met with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to talk about strategies for Washington Square. One of the next steps is connecting me with the team behind NexusPark in Columbus, Indiana.
NexusPark used to be the Fair Oaks Mall. The City of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health turned it into a health, wellness and recreation campus, with a 150,000 square foot fieldhouse, parks offices, dining, retail and medical offices. Roughly $106 million, about half public and half private.
That is a dead mall that became the center of its community again.
It is also close to what I argued for in my IBJ op-ed. When Ransburg closed, the east side lost its community center. Washington Square is not coming back as a mall. It could come back as something like this.
I want to learn how Columbus did it, and I will share what I find.
Tuesday's Results
Congratulations to everyone who won on Tuesday, including Prosecutor Ryan Mears on his next term and Kelvis Williams, our next sheriff.
I also want to thank Philip Foust and Tom Vaughn for stepping up and running. Putting your name on the ballot is no small commitment, and I appreciate their willingness to serve.
Elections are where we disagree. The work afterward is where we have to find a way to agree. I look forward to working with both Mears and Williams on public safety.
And thank you to everyone who voted. Our city is better when people participate.
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See you next week with more updates from the Neighborhood.
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