[markbarbera]

Well put, RTH. Not only was the old BMO restoration the most successful of the list of reno is your post, it did not require any government intervention (i.e. $7 mil bailouts). A a matter of fact, very little public funds went into any of the other restorations. Also, the Foster Building can be added to the list of private restorations underway that will surely be a downtown success story.

As far as LIUNA goes, they are certainly not what I would call experts in restoration projects. Their previous restorations that Goldfinger mentioned were all small-scale, yet still they 'needed' cash from various levels of government to pull it off. The only thing LIUNA seems to excel at is extorting huge wads of cash from the public purse.

In other news, Stinson has finalized the sale of the Sapphire Tower site in Toronto for a cool $24 million, which covers most of the creditors claims against him in his March bankruptcy filing. Once this is behind him, he is free and clear to entertain new developments, and his eye is set on The Hammer. He has direct connections to foreign investors with deep pockets, and his new-found interst in Hamilton can only mean better times are ahead for our city.

LIUNA has obviously bitten off more than it can chew with Lister and Connaught. My advice would be to step aside and let the big boys take over the big jobs, and stick to the jobs you know!