mark

Prolix - sorry to see you've had a rough time of it too. I fully believe you are correct... they simply don't give a rats ass. I've emailed the realtor, Christine Schoonover, however she has been no help. I seriously considered going to down to the Parker Flats ground breaking ceremony and protesting... but that would've made me look kinda silly. I can't get the COA to do much, I think they (and myself as well) are just sick and tired of the whole thing and it simply costs too much to hire a lawyer and go after them since we're stuck paying all the bills to, in essence, complete the building. How they can sleep at night, I'm not sure. Strangely, their attitude seems to be that they are doing us a favor by providing such an amazing product at a great price. Reasonably priced my place may be - however I have never dealt with a worse group of people in my life. Kinsey was an awesome place when it opened... too bad it's gone downhill so quickly. It's not suprising, though. For example, they had a gentleman working on 'post completion' issues (hah!). He was arrested for some sort of offense, more than likely DUI (I've found bottles of booze in the hall closet that he used to drink). He was in jail for about a month since he had previous outstand warrents. Did they replace him? Nope. Nothing got done for a month while he was in jail... and now he's back, doing his usual terrible job when he is actually on-site. All they need to do is hire about 5 people to work for a couple of weeks to finish this off and make us happy. Hell, even returning emails would be an improvement. Will that happen? No. They'd prefer to be sued - it must be cheaper.

If it was up to me, we'd do so... but honestly, it's like we are nearing the end of a war, and I think people just want them out and far away as possible. My hope at this point is that people back out of their deals and tell them it was due to their poor workmanship and how they've treated their previous customers. Maybe then they'll be forced to change. In the meantime I suggest that everyone who is thinking about buying a unit downtown to steer clear of MED. It sounds like your experience at the Polk Building was excellent, and it also seems like Urban Sites generally does a good job. Sidenote: no fewer than 4 suits were filed by Graydon Owners. Go here: http://www.courtclerk.org and perform a search for 'Middle Earth' for more detail.

Yup. That piece of exposed particle board on the eastern most building of the stretch pretty much sums up their company. They can't finish job, and quality is not a concern. However, if you tell them that they get really defensive and offended. It's unreal.

Before doing anything, I gave them many chances to make the situation right. My lawyer and I had a face to face with Tim Voss (one of the owners) before I filed the suit. Keep in mind it took weeks to setup this meeting, that all marketing material and blueprints up till that point stated that the sq. footage was 1400. This is what he had to say in response after he met with his people (he claimed he was going back to have a meeting to see what he could do for me): Dear Mark, Thank you for meeting with me last week. I apologize for being so busy recently. We are all working to finish the Graydon place project I understand your concerns regarding the square footage of your unit. In renovating buildings some variations present themselves that can not be predicted. In part that is why, in paragraph 5 of our contract, we reserve the right to make changes. Additionally the price per square foot we charged you, and other buyers in the building, is significantly below the market. The result is you are getting a very good deal! Therefore we will not be offering a price reduction on the unit. If the square footage issue is something you can't deal with then Middle Earth will re-list your unit and find a successor buyer. We, of course would be entitled to any additional profit after reimbursing your deposits. If we were to get less than the current sales price the amount of your deposit being returned would be reduced by the difference in sales prices. We are very excited about how the condos are turning out, and are sure yours will also be beautiful. Tim Voss --- I would have been happy with a free upgrade, and an apology - but instead I received a condescending email. Also - they didn't volunteer the error (in fact they lied a few times to try to hide it). The only way I found out about it was after reviewing revised condo documents that they updated. The clause he references about making changes was in reference to a statement allowing them to make necessary 'minor' changes. Reduction of 160 sq. ft. was not minor to me. Normally, when you come to a table with your lawyer, the company will try to make things right. Not in this case. The case went on for months. They finally decided to settle after I filed for a default judgment hearing. I had to settle simply because I couldn't afford to go to trial. I didn't come out ahead, but I would have felt worse had I not done anything. Strangely, right before settling they told their lawyer that they had offered to give all of my deposit back and allow me out of the contract... as the email shows above, that wasn't the case. In their mind, it was my fault and my problem and I was getting a great deal... no matter that they were in breach of contract. Bottom line - if they had come to me and said "Hey Mark, we made a mistake, what can we do to make it right?", I would have totally been willing to work with them. Their response was basically "screw you", which is always a great way to treat your customer. Now... after all of that, I'm stuck with common areas that are completed in a half-ass fashion and a parking garage that isn't complete. It seems like they must be breaking the law somewhere. Unfortunately, that's tough and expensive to prove. Oh, and BTW I'm really enjoying our non-existant 'rooftop garden'. Sigh.

Not sure how I'd pursue it with the City - the don't care about the BBB and are not members, and I've already sued them once due to them reducing my condo unit from 1400 sq feet to 1240. Can't afford to do it again over the common areas... However, if someone can think of a good plan to put some pressure on them to make this right, I'm all ears.

Yup - sorry about changing the topic - the mods can feel free to move my comments to a different thread if they like. ************************* Thread has been split, to see Mark's photos from Graydon Place go here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9596.0 montecarloss

Please explain further, what didn't they finish and in which building? I've been over it a few times, so I'll keep it short. Thus far: Graydon place: None of the stairwells have been finished (painted, etc) The hallways were never finished in a quality fashion (the COA has to pay for them to be redone now) Alarm wiring is exposed in the hallway The parking garage is still not complete and is unusable 2 years after the first resident moved in. Lobby looks terrible Elevator looks terrible Roof was finished with poor, flammable materials (which, yes, eventually caught on fire). I wouldn't have MED clean my bathroom, much less rehab a building. They are crooks. The good news is that they aren't actually handling construction on Parker Flats. *edit* I feel it's in the best interest of potential buyers to know what sort of quality they may expect, so I am going to post a few photos of the common areas: We'll just stain up that construction damaged door - no one will notice! The current state of our secondary stairwell: Repairing and painting the pipes would be a lot of work... that's why they decided to leave it to someone else: Want to break into this guys apartment? Just snip the conveniently located cable hanging from the ceiling: An example of the awesome finish work done in one of our elevators: The elevator. Brand new doors scratched from improper installation. Will it be fixed? Only if the COA pays for it, more than likely: Our main stairwell: Water damage caused by construction after they put in the ceiling tiles. We were told these hallways would have sconce lighting and high ceilings. Instead we got can lights, water based industrial paint and dropped office-style ceilings in the name of cost savings: They'll finish this item - but it'll be a 4 year struggle: Their handling of the individual units was terrible. Their handling of the common areas borders on criminal. This only scratches the surface - these pictures are only from 1 floor. Perhaps they'll get this all fixed up and done - but after being here for more than a year and seeing almost no progress, my gut tells me they've left us hanging. So, when I see them starting a new project, it kinda makes me sick to my stomach just a bit, because I fear others will be going through the same issues. Our COA will end up taking ownership of all this - and it *will* get fixed, and our building is wonderful... but I, and the other owners, are getting stuck with the bill. Just be aware.... It pains me to warn people against a company developing downtown - but they are *truly* that terrible. Thanks, Mark

Nope, you're right. Checked it out with my parents back in the day.

Dude that's genius. They could put a billboard up off of i75 that looks like this: Haha, that's great.

Still pissed at MED. MED never finished our building and we're 3 years in. Best of luck to those purchasing, however. It looks like a cool project.

I don't like it. Seems cheesy to me. If anything, it looks a poor attempt at modern branding. Perhaps we should be using iFountain?

I'm takin it to the Pitchfork music fest in Chicago at the end of July. Seems I'm not the only one, either - as my tickets were $45 round trip - I snoozed tooo long.

I suppose closing Express for Men too? Oh well... any other suggestions for reasonably priced business casual clothing downtown? I buy my crap work clothes there (and previously, GAP, in tower place). If T-mobile moves, where will I heckle Cincy-Rise?

I have a small camera I'm planning on bringing. Also, I have a macbook which has a built-in camera. If they allow me to bring my laptop into the country (something I need to check on), my hope is I can take some short movies while pretending to write my travel log (the other reason I wish to bring it).

Good question. In all seriousness, I have wrestled with the fact that the N. Korean government will end up with some of my hard earned cash spent on this trip. However, I feel that being there and sharing with the people/tour guides my experiences as an American citizen outweigh any damage my monetary contribution may cause. They need exposure to the outside world to realize what they are missing. Just to make it clear: I do not support the N. Korean government. As far as why I personally want to go? Just due to the sheer oddity and surrealness of the whole place. It's safe to say I'll never see anythign else like it. It's almost completely isolated, therefore, I must go.

Their stupid missile better not screw up my vacation!

Ok, at least ya'all get my point then. It's kinda like putting a giant Cincinnati sign on the city... wait.. nevermind.

ha! perfect! LOL.

I've done a lot of reasearch, so I fully plan on not photographing much in the way of normal NK life. They like you to take photos of monuments and so on - anything that they *think* makes them look good to the outside world. Strangely enough, the DMZ is part of the tour (see Tues).

Explains why I thought it wasn't you :).

There are people carrying pictures of themselves in kentucky? :p

For a limited time this summer/fall American tourists are allowed in. You must book with an approved DPRK tour company. You must also figure out a way to get to Beijing as that's where you must leave from to enter North Korea. I am working with these folks: http://www.koryogroup.com/tours/index-us.html I fully expect it to be a depressing/surreal/weird experience and am really looking forward to it. Hopefully they won't launch any missiles between now and then, or that may hurt my chances... we'll see. I'll take as many pictures as I can... without trying to get my government minders into trouble. What I've heard is that they get into more trouble than you if you do something against the rules. I'd hate to be the one responsible for getting someone into trouble - I'm sure they already have a difficult enough time as it is... This is the planned itinerary: Sat JS152 Flight Beijing-Pyongyang 11:30 departure, 14:25 arrival. Customs at Pyongyang airport, meet guides, transfer to Yanggakdo Hotel. Check in hotel. Mansudae Grand Monument, Arch of Triumph, Fountain Park, MASS GAMES Sun City tour of Pyongyang, including Mangyongdae Native House, Juche Tower, Monument to Party Foundation, War Victory Monuments, Pyongyang Metro Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang film studios, Coach to Mount Myohyang, overnight in Mount Myohyang Mon International Friendship Exhibition (Hall of gifts to DPRK's leaders), Buddhist temple Coach return to Pyongyang, Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (Korean War Museum), USS Pueblo, optional second MASS GAMES Tues Coach to Kaesong, Panmunjom/DMZ, Kaesong Koryo Museum Concrete Wall, return to Pyongyang, Schoolchildren's Palace performance, walk in the city Wed Depart Pyongyang by train departure at 10:10 to airport

Kendall lives on main... has for awhile I believe.

May be an accent to you... I call it lame :) - if it is indeed a picture of the fountain... next to said fountain... weird.

I see that... but will it be a picture of the fountain itself? I mean... there *is* the real fountain right there :).