Developer Paul Ciminelli and Mayor Byron Brown both believe having a grocery store downtown is so crucial to the health of the city that they’re dangling a lifeline worth more than $1 million to keep the market open.
Ciminelli on Monday pledged to make a $500,000 investment in Braymiller Market, but only if the Common Council took steps to make the store eligible for another in $562,000 in pandemic-related funds.
“At this point, my feelings are still the same as when I voted against it,” Council President Darius Pridgen said. “And unless something huge, unless I’m informed of something that I did not know the last time I voted, my sentiments are still the same.”
But the announcement didn’t immediately tip the scales in persuading council members to vote in favor of the funding, though some council members who initially opposed the lifeline said they could be persuaded otherwise.
In an effort to ease some concerns from council members, Mayor Byron Brown said he would submit a proposal to the Common Council outlining how his administration will continue to offer financial assistance to small businesses in every district in the city with grants through the American Rescue Plan.
But Brown said he hopes he can persuade enough of them to pass the…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply