The public got to see 4000 River Road LLC’s application for tax abatements for the first time at a public hearing this morning in Henrietta.
The property was purchased by a subsidiary of Morgan Management last year from Rochester Institute of Technology. Robert Morgan signed the mortgage and deed. No other records pertaining to the property have been filed since then.
Rochester for All raised questions about awarding tax breaks to a company under investigation for mortgage fraud. COMIDA awarded tax breaks to a Morgan project a few months ago, despite these concerns.
The application notes that 4000 River Road LLC is “solely owned by David Christa and led by Tom George.” Christa is a partner with Morgan on numerous projects. George listed his address on the application as 600 East Ave., a Christa/Morgan building. George told us Morgan is no longer a partner in the project.
There’s no public record of Morgan’s divestment on file with the county clerk. Morgan did transfer another Henrietta property to Christa in recent days. The Wall Street Journal reported Morgan Management is now operating under a different name and Morgan is not an owner.
“I would hope the county does due diligence and makes sure Morgan is not involved in this project. There’s no transparency when it comes to LLC’s,” Rochester for All Director Rachel Barnhart said. “The fact his close partner is now the owner raises questions about what’s going on with Morgan and what this means for existing projects in our community.”
The application notes this is a $30 million project that would receive more than $4.3 million in incentives. COMIDA will vote on the package at its meeting tomorrow.