Robert Abberger This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Weekly Planet | THIS WEEK IN NEWS

   www.weeklyplanet.com/current/n - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/16/2001   Last Visited: 3/16/2001

   When the head of the Marriott's development team , Robert Abberger , was asked during testimony if city bureaucrats were helpful , he responded : Absolutely. Absolutely. ( Abberger didn't respond to a request for an interview. ).
   
   To meet open space requirements , planning consultant Hammer testified , the hotel was allowed to count submerged lands , its interior lobby and its rooftop swimming pool. The Marriott's view corridor -- a legally mandated requirement that buildings not totally obstruct sight from Florida Avenue to the waterfront -- was just waived in its entirety , Hammer testified.
   
   Even more incredible is that there is little record of the many giveaways to the Marriott.
   ...
   The coziness of the government players is further illustrated by the role played by Abberger. He developed the Marriott and testified for HARTline in the trial. His testimony was meant to drive down the price HARTline would have to pay. Yet , the truth is that the Marriott's land on Garrison Channel was cheap because it was virtually unusable , due to government restrictions. The city had to abandon its own rules to make the Marriott site viable for the hotel. Alternatively , Block 107 was eminently suited for construction and would have required a minimal number of city rule waivers.
   
   Nine days after the Block 107 trial , Abberger was rewarded with a seat on HARTline's board of directors.
   
   It's clear that , at the very least , HARTline exercised incredibly bad judgment. The two deals -- selling its own land for a huge loss and buying half of Block 107 for a staggering price -- constitute a $ 6-million waste of taxpayer money.
   
   What makes it worse is that all of this happened in anticipation that no one would ever know.

2. 2. Weekly Planet | THIS WEEK IN NEWS

   www.weeklyplanet.com/2001-03-1 - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/11/2001   Last Visited: 8/12/2001

   When the head of the Marriott's development team , Robert Abberger , was asked during testimony if city bureaucrats were helpful , he responded : Absolutely. Absolutely.. ( Abberger didn't respond to a request for an interview. ).
   
   To meet open space requirements , planning consultant Hammer testified , the hotel was allowed to count submerged lands , its interior lobby and its rooftop swimming pool. The Marriott's view corridor -- a legally mandated requirement that buildings not totally obstruct sight from Florida Avenue to the waterfront -- was just waived in its entirety , Hammer testified.
   
   Even more incredible is that there is little record of the many giveaways to the Marriott.
   ...
   The coziness of the government players is further illustrated by the role played by Abberger. He developed the Marriott and testified for HARTline in the trial. His testimony was meant to drive down the price HARTline would have to pay. Yet , the truth is that the Marriott's land on Garrison Channel was cheap because it was virtually unusable , due to government restrictions. The city had to abandon its own rules to make the Marriott site viable for the hotel. Alternatively , Block 107 was eminently suited for construction and would have required a minimal number of city rule waivers.
   
   Nine days after the Block 107 trial , Abberger was rewarded with a seat on HARTline's board of directors.
   
   It's clear that , at the very least , HARTline exercised incredibly bad judgment. The two deals -- selling its own land for a huge loss and buying half of Block 107 for a staggering price -- constitute a $6-million waste of taxpayer money.
   
   What makes it worse is that all of this happened in anticipation that no one would ever know.