The Railyards is relying on state and federal grants to pay for this infrastructure work. Suheil Totah with developer Thomas Enterprises says the entire project is now at risk.
Totah: “If the money doesn’t come through and the awards are terminated, then you won’t see the infrastructure that you’re seeing behind here. The Railyards will continue to be landlocked and won’t be developed. So the consequences are tremendous in terms of what could happen."
Last month, the Illinois-based lender filed a notice of default against the Railyards property – the first step towards foreclosure. Totah says Thomas and the lender continue to negotiate a deal to remove that default notice.
A top city official says he’s not worried about the project falling through because he’s confident the two sides will solve their dispute in time. The city also says the $30 million grant is only a fraction of the project's $160 million in public funds – and losing it would be disappointing but a "relatively small" setback.
