Canal complex wins city incentives

A new apartment and retail complex along the canal has won a 10-year tax abatement worth $2.7 million. The Cosmopolitan on the Canal project, by locally based Flaherty & Collins Properties, is slated to include 218 apartment units, 18,000 square feet of retail space and a 338-space parking garage. The $33 million project would be bordered by the canal, Senate Avenue, Michigan Street and North Street. Although downtown apartment occupancy is near 100 percent, city officials say incentives are justified because the project includes canal-level retail, public restrooms and 30 parking spaces dedicated to canal users. Do you agree?