January 10, 2010

Nick K


Story in the Telegram today about how city projects languish. Are they surprised?

In the private sector, time is money so a a private developer wants to start and finish a project as quick as possible. A private developer wants to have all their financing in place when they start a project and hit the ground running. Fast turn around is key.

In the low-mod income development world, a developer needs to secure an actual site, even if it is merely under agreement, before they can apply for the various grant sources. In other words, it is almost impossible to have the money in hand when a project is announced. Whether it be the City Builders, Old Voke School, Mason Street, 93 Grant Street or Chevalier, it will automatically take years from the initial announcement until the project gets started. Same for Pharmasphere. It is merely the nature of the beast and low mod income developers. They need to secure a location first, then start the process.

That is why these developers love the RFP process. You see the city puts a parcel like the Old Voke School out to bid. They come in and bid and promise 67 units of housing. The city in turns accepts the bid and the developer then turns around and negotiates an LDA, Land Disposition Agreement, that gives them 2-3 years to secure the required financing. Even if it is 4 years later and nothing has happened, what is the City of Worcester to do?

Kudos to Councilor Lukes "We have to set a new direction in this city. We have more then met our quota, when it comes to affordable housing. It's time to level things off and encourage more market-rate housing so we can have a diverse population in the downtown area. What happens to these buildings will have a significant impact on the downtown for decades to come." The question then is how do you encourage private market-rate housing ?
  • waive permitting fees
  • waive water and sewer connection fees
  • lock in current assessed value for ten years
Call the Philadelphia Plan or the Hanover Treatment. How about also discouraging low-mod housing?
  • tell our local delegation to stop supporting these applications on both the state and federal level
  • stop giving our HOME funds to these projects
  • stop the insane variances

Although I must admit the horse may already be out of the barn on this, it is good to see that people are starting to realize the problem. Last congrats to Nick on his Fire Fighters media award.

2 comments:

Jahn said...

Re the closing of teh Choose Worcester marketing office.

I have asked on here before how many different organizations and people we have trying to sell Worcester. I have also asked how these marketing organizations have been evaluated for the results they produce. I have alos suggested that Worc marketing s/b under one manmagement person and the buck stops with that individual and his (her) marketing dept.

Buy Worc, Choose Worc, The Shamber of Commerce, The Visitors and Conventions Bureau (do we still have that?), so called Economic Dev'ment.........the list is endless........did I forget any?

It is truly ridiculous and the effort to sell Worc is too fractured ( and probably too divisive) to be effective.

But on the other hand we have no problem peddling low income housing to people from central Mass all the way to Boston.

Although I am not so sure Choose Worc s/b tossed a life line, Deval Partirck and Jim Mc Govern have no problemo' securing money for low income housing, tutition for illegal aliens, free windmill feasabilty studies for Holy Cross, etc, etc......yet there is no money to market Worc.
Both of these foreflushers s/b run outta Dodge on a rail.

And Deval shows up at a huge apt. block fire in Malden on Saturday wondering about shelter for the 30 families displaced.

Deval, is the heat on at the $3M manse out in the Berkshires? Put your huge carbon footprint to work and show us your charitable mindset by temporaliy housing these unfortunate fire victims. Let em take the Labrador pooch you were walking in Main South last summer (after u threatened to euthanize the animals at the Stoneham Zoo) so the kids displaced by the fire have a dog to play with.

Jahn said...

No knock against NIck K but, how is the the IAFF is qualified to judge journalism?

Will the Teamsters Local 170 being judging the best piece written about the police dept or the best piece written about the city water dept clerks? Both are organized by Local 170....right???

Dittos for the SEIU for the best piece written about DWP workers??