$32 MILLION DOWN THE PD MEMORY HOLE: I owe the Plain Dealer an apology. I closed yesterday's post about the proposed $30 million in Port Authority financing for Steelyard Commons with: "P.S. Why is the Sun News getting a total scoop on this story?" This was, of course, a snide jab at our fine daily newspaper.

But it turns out that the PD broke this story way back on January 15. You might have missed it, since it was the last, unbylined item in the "Communities" roundup, buried on Metro Page B3. But there it was:

Developer tries to get loans

The developer of a proposed mega-shopping center in the Cuyahoga River valley is working with several banks to land at least $32 million in loans through a federal tax-credit program. Developer Mitchell Schneider of First Interstate Properties Ltd. confirmed this week that he is working with U.S. Bank and KeyCorp to finance a big chunk of Cleveland’s Steelyard Commons, a big-box retail center proposed for just east of Ohio 176 (the Jennings Freeway). Schneider hopes to land $32 million through the New Markets Tax Credit program run by the Northeast Ohio Development Fund, a collaboration of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and Cohen Company Ltd. The program offers federal income tax credits to lenders who make below-market loans for projects in low-income areas.

See? Right there in black and white, in our newspaper of record. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. My bad.

In my defense, however, this January 15 item was the last and only reference to Steelyard's Port financing in the PD's many stories and editorials about Steelyard Commons. I guess all the other reporters and editors missed the story, too. Like editorial page editor Brent Larkin, whose lead editorial on May 19 included this sentence:

Recall that Schneider asked for no subsidies to build his $120 million shopping center.

or the writer of the infamous March 5 "Boneyard Commons" editorial (possibly also Larkin):

Schneider... planned to do it without any subsidy from the city — unlike almost every other deal that’s proposed here.

not to mention the reporters who've repeatedly quoted Mayor Campbell saying "no city subsidies" without adding: "The developer is seeking $32 million in Federally subsidizing financing from the Port of Cleveland, an agency largely controlled by the City."

Yup, they must have missed it, like me. Or maybe they all just forgot. That would be understandable.

After all, what's $32 million among friends?
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