CARA, the urban renewal program that covers central Albany, reached one of its final milestones last week. This made me think not just about the accomplishments of this program, but also of the high hopes some of us had 25 years ago and how those hopes were dashed.
The milestone is what City Manager Peter Troedsson called “CARA’s final payments.” Here’s some of what Troedsson wrote Friday in his weekly report to the city council:
“Over the life of the Central Albany Revitalization Agency (CARA), the district financed several major capital projects, including the Downtown Streetscape and Albany Waterfront Project, through loans… . In accordance with the financial plan approved by the Agency [the council] last November, staff has been systematically paying off CARA’s remaining financial obligations and closing out outstanding contracts. This week, CARA made its final payment on all formal debt. The remaining expenditures for existing contracts, projects, staffing, and required reporting will continue as planned, keeping the Agency on track to officially sunset at the end of the current biennium.”…