Museum Plaza construction site covered in snow

Several million dollars of construction liens filed against Museum Plaza by contractors caused a panic among some Metro Council members last week as they worried public land on the construction site could be jeopardized.  Council members Hal Heiner and Jim King asked for a legal opinion on the issue and demanded a report on the future viability of the Museum Plaza project, calling into question the developers’ business practices.  Today, the Jefferson County Attorney’s office released a statement putting Heiner’s and King’s fears to rest: city land won’t we taken and the developers must assume full responsibility for the liens.

Attorney Craig Greenberg, partner in the Museum Plaza development, wasn’t all too pleased, however, that the issue was brought up at all:  ”It’s unfortunate that Councilman Heiner continues to put roadblocks in the way of progress and job creation… There are enough challenges today outside of our control and community to get this project under way.”  The team reassured the public, again, that they will be moving forward with Museum Plaza when the credit markets improve. Meanwhile, the power lines the developers paid to have burried should be completely switched over in the next month or so and two large electrical towers will come down.  Crews already removed the riverfront dinosaur for just such an occasion.

• Dispute over unpaid bills at Museum Plaza concerns some on Metro Council (C-J)
• County attorney says Museum Plaza liens don’t put city land at risk (C-J)