W

hat does $139 million build?

You could build two Regions Parks. You could build a Westin Hotel AND a Birmingham Crossplex.

You could build that horseshoe-shaped stadium UAB wanted , or five – count 'em, five – Railroad Parks.

With $139 million, you could change the face of this place.

Or not.

With $139 million, the city of Birmingham wants to rent space in an old building. It wants to rent space in an old building so that when it's all said and done, the people of Birmingham walk away with ... nothing.

Zip. Zero. Not even rent to own.

The city, after more politicking and lobbying than you can shake a stupid stick at, continues to lean toward a deal to spend that $139 million – some $5.3 million a year in base rent and operations & maintenance fees -- to lease 263,000 square feet in the old Social Security building downtown.

It wants to put its police and fire departments there. And in 2043 it will find itself in the same position, out $139 million and looking for a place to live.

What else could Birmingham buy with $139 million?

It could almost run a bus rapid transit system from downtown all the way to Alabama 119, easing traffic on U.S. 280 and strengthening the city. That whole gig has been estimated at $173 million. But if Birmingham kicked in $139 million, surely the 'burbs or the state or the feds could find the change.

It could change Birmingham transit forever. Birmingham had hoped for federal funding to get an in-town rapid transit program up and running a few years ago. For just $65 million, the city would use sleek, modern buses to rush riders on a loop from downtown to nearby neighborhoods. Birmingham didn't get that grant, but with $139 million it could double the range.

But Birmingham will likely spend it – the vote hasn't come up yet, but more council members seem to be leaning toward the proposal – to rent space in an old mare of a building that looks like it was designed by Mike Brady.

So one day 30 years down the road a Birmingham police or fire chief will wake up, look around and ask: "What were they thinking?"

We ought to ask it now.

What are they thinking?

It is clear the police and fire departments need new homes. Their current digs are inadequate.

But depending on whose estimates you want to use, the cost of building a brand spanking new office building ranges from about $52 million to $85 million (not including financing). The high range comes in comparisons created by the owner of the Social Security building itself, which have been circulated by some city officials.

And that's really the problem. It is clear much of the thinking for the city has been done by the Franklin H. Haney Company of Chattanooga, which owns the building and has tried for years to make sure it has help from the city to fill it.

Haney has employed former Mayor Richard Arrington as a consultant, he tried to sell former Mayor Larry Langford on another use for the building, and now he is selling again. He is the same guy who, in the 1980s, tried to sell the idea of twin towers over the Social Security parking deck that would contain 1,100 luxury apartments.

Dreaming big is not his weak point.

But that's not the problem either. The problem comes when city officials begin to pass out Haney's estimates and conclusions as if there were a substitute for the city's own due diligence. Or public discussion.

It's not.

What else could the city get with $139 million?

Snow equipment to keep this place from shutting down during a dusting ? A whole bunch of those $600,000 Magic City Classic parties Mayor William Bell likes to throw?

Heck, maybe Bell could buy one of those crystal balls he likes to talk about.

All of it smells better than this long-term lease.

John Archibald is a columnist with Alabama Media Group. Jarchibald@al.com