Hat tip to David Newquist for irony of the week!
Joop Bollen has made a living by coordinating government intrusions in the marketplace. For nearly twenty years, as director of the South Dakota International Business Institute under the Board of Regents and as boss of private contractor SDRC Inc., he has marshaled state and federal resources to secure foreign investment in favored businesses.
But let local government express a desire in stimulating activity in a business sector where Bollen has a stake, and Bollen suddenly views government as a sloppy, ill-informed interloper that has no business challenging his market position.
Aberdeen has had a tough time providing housing. A November 2010 housing study found a need for more income-based and low-income rental housing. A study completed last month finds the need persists. To address this need, the Aberdeen Housing Authority would like to build a 40-unit subsidized apartment building to serve low-income folks in the over-55 age range.
Joop Bollen, who lost his economic development contract with the state in September and now must rely on his extensive rental property holdings to keep him and his wife Charisse jetsetting, is raising all sorts of objections to this effort to help Aberdonians find decent places to live. He tells the Aberdeen City Council the housing study must be flawed:
Joop Bollen who owns various properties in Aberdeen, including the Fifth Avenue Apartments, said he is concerned with the validity of the study.
“I’m very concerned that the study is skewed,” Bollen said questioning whether the study takes into account recently constructed apartments in Aberdeen and the recent closure of the beef plant.
“You should review the study and make sure it’s accurate,” Bollen said. “If you sign off on that letter, you state you’ve seen the study and feel there’s a need. My concern is whether or not there’s a real demand” [Elisa Sand, "Landlords Disagree with Need for Housing Authority Request," Aberdeen American News, 2014.02.19].
Giggles turn to guffaws when Bollen turns on his old profession and declares his private market off-limits to government subsidy:
In addition to concerns about the study, Bollen also questioned whether it’s the city’s role to subsidize public housing [Sand, 2014.02.19].
Mayor Mike Levsen can't leave that silly assertion alone:
“The idea that government has a role in housing is established policy for the past 50 years,” Mayor Mike Levsen said [Sand, 2014.02.19].
David Newquist finds both irony and self-serving counterfactuality in Bollen's protest:
Many students, especially single parents, found help in subsidized housing, which made it affordable for them to attend college. The real complaint that some landlords have about subsidized housing is that they may have to lower their rents to compete. City housing makes it possible for many people to live decently, something that is of no concern to the private rental market. The study shows that there is a 3.9 percent vacancy rate in Aberdeen. The private landlords want to be subsidized by eliminating the competition provided by the city [David Newquist, "Watch Out: Here Comes a Huge Load of Irony," Northern Valley Beacon, 2014.02.19].
Bollen has raised alarms of convenience against government intervention in his marketplace before. In 2008, Aberdeen code enforcement officer Mike Holsten found a plague of rental units in abominable conditions. When the city proposed a plan for annual inspections, Bollen leapt to opposition:
However, some local landlords think the ordinance is too drastic. Joop Bollen, who owns more than 300 rental units, said requiring annual inspections would be a logistical nightmare and might not be as necessary as the city thinks.
“From a management standpoint, who's going to be there to do these inspections?” Bollen asked. “Do I have to take time off work? What if (the tenant) isn't home?”
Bollen said he can't form an opinion until his questions are answered. He also thinks paying for more than 300 annual inspections could be a financial burden. The city should first determine whether there is a problem, Bollen said.
Anyone can create a slide show portraying a big problem - just choose the worst pictures, he said [Jackie Burke Grumish, "Rental Housing Horrors," Aberdeen American News, 2008.02.03].
If Joop Bollen is sincere about his free-market conservatism, he should go apologize to the small dairies he's put out of business, the workers whose hopes he raised and dashed, and the foreign investors whose millions he made disappear with his rabid promotion of government intervention in the market with the EB-5 visa investment program.
Subsidized housing stabilizes rents not lowers them. This Joop has the integrity of a Tijuana street beggar.
It is nice to know that through hard work at a state job, a person is still able to amass ownership in 300 apartments, travel the world, and also sate one's yen for Egyptian antiquities. Joop is simply a great American success story. Joop/Sveen for Governor.
Joop is an inspiration to state employees across South Dakota. With mike smiling down at us from the senate rotunda, we can all aspire to succeed like Joop.
I have a suggestion...........Joop go back to where you came from.
I would love to see the money trail on how Joop aquired his properties.
Did the Chinese know they were investing in properties in Aberdeen?
I agree Roger C, it kind of looks like ole Joop's investment money would be a good place to start looking for South Dakota's missing taxpayer moolah. It all just looks so convenient doesn't it.
Jerry,
I think we pretty much know where state taxpayer dollars will lead to. Joop and Benda pocketed that money.
That $60 Million in EB-5 investor money needs to be explained, that is where our focus should be at this time.
Consultant fees, attorneys, planning, actual construction and equipment costs, etc. will lead to who skimmed off the top of the NBP project that caused its failure and bankruptcy before it could open the doors.
We know money went to hidden corporations and off shore accounts, who owned those corporations and various accounts?
GOED grants are such a small part of this scam and are only serving as a distraction to what happened to the big money.
What candidates and pacs did Joop Bollin and Richard Benda contribute to. How much money did Mike Rounds and Dennis Daugaard receive. Also check out the attorneys and developers who were involved in the RB-5 projects. Follow the money.
Joop bollen is brazen enough to pay Anita in the mid 90's $20k, to marry him so that he could get the green card. He became desperate when he could not get a workers visa, he worked for his friends liqueur store in Georgia illegally in the country. Guys name was Patel. High school buds. He also "sponsored" Charrise through school in the Philippines, which seemed suspect. He is incredibly calculating. They should get him for sex with a minor - I'm sure that he was not giving his money away for free. Now she is his wife. Wow, how did I know this was coming. Btw, he is 51, she is 22. His own son is 18. How disturbing.
The reagent who may be getting kick backs, is mr. Shekelton. The counsel. I asked him back in 2007, why it is possible for a state employee allowed to take kick backs of $35k per eb-5application. Next thing SDRC is private and somewhow connected to NSU SDIBI. Joop bollen and James park of Hanul are shameless brazen about their profits. Joops finances should be investigated back prior to the privatization of SDRC when he was a director for NSU, the fees he and James park collected and shared are in the millions. This should be guilty in two ways, a government employee being bought and bribed by a private party to misrepresent the state of South Dakota overseas. You should know that they represented himself to Chinese and korean investors as a government official to make their program seem legitimate. Joop bollen hates American government and laws. He thinks the government officials are all jokes. He hates to pay taxes. Yet his son with American Indian mom will benefit from other peoples taxes. Also he refuses to return to his poor past. How long will this country allow this guy to get away with his law breaking?
Porter, please don't insult the Tijauna street beggars by comparing them to Joop. The beggars are poor and are trying to survive, Joop is plain out and out dishonest, and has much less integrity than the beggars.
Curious who Bollen bought for Rounds.
Bollen likely bought Rob Fischer's wife for him.
https://madvilletimes.com/2012/09/rapid-city-journal-cans-frankenfeld-for-frank-criticism-of-corporate-decisions/