April 18, 2008

How to Waste $1,000,000

A more detailed story in the newspaper today about saving the CDC's, click here. It never ends, more hand-outs to the tune of one million dollars.

  • My own personal favorite is Main South CDC needs 107,788 to convert four condos to rental units?
  • Better yet East Side CDC needs another 760,000 to build 4 units. Maybe someone should say don't build them right now???
  • Do you think anyone in leadership positions will question any of this?

Again let me ask how can a private developer compete with subsidized development like this? The simple answer is they can not and will not invest monies into projects in the City of Worcester. I am repeating myself but not only do the CDC's not stimulate private investments they stiffle it.

Business friendly? CDC friendly is more like it in the City of Worcester.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

wHAT i ESPecially LIKE ABOUT mAIN SOUTH cdc is they are building condos now where there used to be four 3 deckers that they picked up & moved 150 yards up the street at exorbitant costs.....then they re-hab them completely gutted......total rumored cost to moove and rehab them is rumored to be in $550,000 to $600,000 range........would have been cheaper to just build replicas of the 3 deckers rather than moving them..........then they turn around and sell them to low income buyers for $160,000 to $170,000...........

THEN NOW they build more new condos where these 3 deckers used to be ....why the hell not leave the 3 deckers where they were rather than move them 150 yards and then build new housing on the old 3 deckers sites............it defies logic and .........but this is what happens when one is not spending their own money......but instead gets McGovern Money to just pi++ away as they see fit......

T&G this morning says main South CDC will get $115,000 to make 10 existing affordable condos that are for sale.......MORE AFFORDABLE.......they will be able to reduce the price from $152,000 on the condos to $130,000......i dont understand the mathrmatics here........ .if you re going to reduce the price of 10 condos by $22,000 ($152,000 to $130,000).....wouldnt you need .....10 x $22,000 or $220,000??

This non profit freight train is decimating the Worcester rental housing market and has to be stopped.........they cant sell what they have built and now they are going to build more?.....got to keep the fiefdom running and the spigot of money frm washington open.

McGovern is doing nothing to help Worc IMO.......he's been giving us too much low income housing money......he's sepnds too much time in central & south america.......and he gave us Deval patrick........need i say any more?

Then also keep in mind the state is broke and we have Patrick giving these CDC's more money???

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

The part that particulary bothers me is that they keep building? Go over Kilby Street, 6 brand new foundations with other lots getting prepped. Now I hear about East Side and 4 more units.

Lets not forget, I believe Main South CDC is also going to get the old Crompton and Knowles Building on Grand Street. South Worcester Neighborhood Center has the old City Builders site on Armory Street. Common Ground working on May Street. Common Ground also a partner on Mason Street. Also we have the old Burwick Furniture Building all in various stages of construction.

It never ends.

Bill Randell said...

Two more.

Common ground also has the parcel of land on Piedmont Street where the house fell into the street. South Worcester also has the empty condo complex (3 units of 11 sold) on the corner of Cambridge/Hacker--which has been taken over by Holy Cross.

Bill

Anonymous said...

I think Holy Cross is associated with or has something to do a littel known non profit group that does housing called Matthew 25??....Did Mathhew 25 take it over........or you think its for student housing......I know a guy who had a Matthew 25 tenant next door to him in a nice completely rehabbed single family house.......this tenant made Section 8's look tame

Bill Randell said...

Holy Cross was great with South Worcester Neighborhood Center and the Cambridge/Hacker Street. Problem was only 3 of 11 units sold and the monthly installments on the first mortgage could not be paid.

Holy Cross co-signed on the note and now have taken over payments. What is going to happen here, I am not sure since there is a whole bunch of grant monies that stipulated home ownership (not rentals).

Bill

Anonymous said...

Prob wont have students there as 11 condos have only 6 or 7 parking spaces...... should have 22 spaces minumim............another exemplary case of great urban planning.....circa 1851 when no one had cars.......and you only needed hitching posts....how'd you like to live in a neighborhood like this...............the cars from those 11 units will spread out over 2 city blocks parked in front of others 3 deckers...then the people who live in the the 3 decker have no place to park.......then the tempers flare esp.......in winter.........

Anonymous said...

Prob wont have students there as 11 condos have only 6 or 7 parking spaces...... should have 22 spaces minumim............another exemplary case of great urban planning.....circa 1851 when no one had cars.......and you only needed hitching posts....how'd you like to live in a neighborhood like this...............the cars from those 11 units will spread out over 2 city blocks parked in front of others 3 deckers...then the people who live in the the 3 decker have no place to park.......then the tempers flare esp.......in winter.........

Bill Randell said...

There is actually another parking lot for this building across and down the street on the corner of Dwight Street.

The worse example of what you are referring to is Piedmont Street, where there is absolutely no offstreet parking being provided for this project.

Anonymous said...

Flightplan.com/Airportinformation/ORH.htm has some good info relating to the airport. Jahn, it does break down daily operations I think you were referring to.
Don't know how current the info is, but interesting.


My two cents (after inflation)

Anonymous said...

Bill, so how many parking spaces do they have total...........both on site and off site..........the lot on Dwight st is prob. 5000 ft..........so my guesstimate is that's about 9-10 spaces tops.

Maybe the airport can get more aid ( not that I am in favor of it) if we declare it the victim of subprime lending........afterall the city has been technically bankrupt for years now.......but they have bookkeepers and lawyers who know how to move any money that the city cannot pay off the records...like zillions in pension obligations.....if we declare teh airport the victim of subprime lending......maybe Deval will send us some money for all the airports unsold capacity ..... i.e unused commercial landing slots..............kinda like the Main South CDC's unsold condo's

i dont want anymore state or fed'l money ( loans or grants) pumped into Worc Airport that would have to be re paid if the airport downsizes or closes .it's only common sense

Anonymous said...

they should take that million and put it into the Mental Hospital...

it stated affordable housing in the papah today..are the units MS CDC is building affordable or low income

Bill Randell said...

Paulie:

Affordable is another word for low income. Seriously you need to be a person of low-mod income to buy these houses. If for an example, a professor at Clark making 80-100K per year, he or she would not be able to buy the house at the subsidized price. They could still buy it but instead of being 130K, it would be more like 250K.

Bill

Anonymous said...

why would we want someone making 80-100K in the neighborhood:>)

Bill Randell said...

Paulie:

Herein lies the problem. Paul I also believe all the units on Mason Street are low-mod income.

Bill

Anonymous said...

our bosses are making it damn near impossible for the city to turn around if they continue on this path..it will doom the Canal District, Hanover Theatre, City Square..the majority of the middle class and above are not going to live in dirty neighborhoods loaded with Dollar Stores..just aint gonna happen


Just read the T&G blog about the shooting on Piedmont the other day..read what folks of Worcester think about most of the urban core of the city:>)

Anonymous said...

Low Income/Afforadable housing is nothing more than a euphemism for subsidized housing......kind of like the term homeless person is a eupehmism for what we used to call hobo's or bums when i was a kid.......except now they live in brand new townhouses rather than living in CSX box cars

These CDC's (Community Destroying Corporations) are decimating the 3 decker rental market. , plus they are deemed to be the good guys on the block....while the investor who owns rental units is deemed to be pond scum.

Thank you Havana Jim & Mr Devaluator.......both of you continue to be THE DIRECT CAUSE of Worc's contiuned demise into the abyss of red ink, red plaid pajamas, and red blood on Piedmont St.

Bill Randell said...

Private sector owners of three deckers are now called speculators in "business friendly" WOrcester.