Joe Montana to get $47 million in state bonds

[Liberal_in_LA]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Score one for 49ers great Joe Montana.

The star quarterback, along with his Connecticut development partner and a Bay Area housing group, has tentatively been awarded $47 million in state bonds to kick-start a $300 million, mixed-used development that would be built on 12 acres next to the South Hayward BART Station.
Matier & Ross

A state Department of Housing and Community Development loan committee signed off last week on two grants for Montana and his business partner, Kurt Wittek. The agency's director is poised to give the final OK.

"I don't see any reason at this time for it not to be approved," said Chris Westlake, the agency's deputy director.

As we recently reported, Wittek was convicted of bank fraud by a federal jury in 1992 after he helped a business associate secure an illegal loan to buy a North Carolina savings and loan. Wittek later got part of the case tossed on appeal, and his five-year prison sentence was reduced to probation.

This year, his 141-home development in Lebanon, N.H., hit the skids with just one house sold, and a bank in Fairfield, Conn., foreclosed on the land where Wittek was developing a $500 million commercial complex and train station.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/06/BARQ18IGUD.DTL

[harry_pothead]

1. Sweet.

Joe was my childhood hero. I miss the days of the Eddie DeBartolo team.

[flvegan]

2. Careful, Joe. Looks like you're dancing with a real loser.

Fraud, foreclosure. Not what I'd look for in a real estate business partner.

[rpannier]

3. That's about the damned truth

Why anyone would get involved wirg someone like that I don't know.

Though people still do business with DUMB-ya and he's been a total business failure for years

[Tab]

4. He should get paid just for the name alone

I mean, "Joe Montana" is beyond Marlboro man or anything like that.

The 141-home development in Lebanon, NH is interesting, though - I used to live there. Real estate is pricey, mainly because of two generators - Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital (huge, and great, and needs lots of resources for doctors, residents, whatever), and Dartmouth College itself (in next-door Hanover). Lebanon and Hanover, NH, and White River Jct and Norwich VT are the big places with Hanover and Lebanon commanding the priciest stuff (Norwich is pretty in demand too, WRJ is a dive and always will be). I wonder where the hell he's putting his development - there's lots of room; I'm surprised he can't sell it, though, unless it's overpriced.

[notesdev]

5. I see a reason

California is broke and can't afford to pay for luxuries like new development. And it's not like we need new development right now, anyway, deflationary depression and all.

[WriteDown]

9. Sure they can.

See Michael Jackson Memorial for reference

[PfcHammer]

6. More houses. Great.

[depakid]

7. Maybe someone can tell us how this makes sense in the current budget crisis

[Javaman]

8. joe gets money even if it fails.

that's how it makes sense.

the peter principle is alive and well.