May 25, 2008

Low Income Housing Week

From the Boston Globe, "Affordable Housing Also Feeling the Pinch", click here. Here is a line from the story, "The development of affordable housing remains fairly strong in area communities, officials say, but they also note there has been a noticeable slowdown in the sale and rental of the income-restricted units."

In Worcester, on the home ownership side we have Main South CDC has numerous empty units for sale on Kilby an Hollis Street. Oak Hill CDC has units (forgot the name of the street), East Side CDC has a two family for sale on Lyons Street asking 120,000, Worc Communty Housing Resources has Quincy Street and South Worcester walked from their project on Cambridge/Hacker leaving Holy Cross with the note as the guarantor. On the rental side, we have May Street with Common Ground and the Burwick/Hadley under construction. On the sideline we have several projects on the drawing boards. Maybe we should stop building these units?

Now for the City of Muncie Indiana, click here, " The city of Muncie will lose $465,634 in HUD aid during the fiscal year beginning June 1 after a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit determined the city lacked adequate control over its federally funded HOME Investment Partnerships Program in 2006-07." I think you will see alot more of these HUD audits.

Here is my favorite story on the Progressive Southeast Arkansas Housing Development Corporation, click here. We need to stop any more of these projects and do an audit to really determine the success, versus the cost, of the projects that we have built.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rumor has it Main South CDC spent about $550,000 each on those 4 three deckers that they moved and re -habbed.

I will go out on a limb and say that when one looks at what these CDC's and other non profits spend on a per sq. ft basis or on a per unit basis to create housing............that it will truly floor us........I doubt they even have systems in place to tract the direct costs of constructione, nevermind all the overhead and other indirect costs. Of coutse they will claim they do other things besisdes construct housing.............like run home buyer seminars or aids awareness day or clean up the neighborhood day and other bull++++ events.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed that the old Colonial Paints building, most recently a mortgage company, has a huge banner strung across it, proclaiming it will be the new home of the Salty Dog Salooon.............yet in the T&G the other day The Salty Dog folks will be going before the Zoning Board of Appeals to request variance(s) and/or special permits for this site.

Talk about putting the cart before the horse. What would anyone on the ZBA think if they were to view this site with the banner annonoucing the arrival of the new saloon before they even have necessary approvals? Worse yet, what does someone like me think???.......that granting the necessary relief is already a foregone conclusion? Where do I park when I decide to toss back a few brews at the Canal Districts newest addition?

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

Good point about the Canal District. Now put yourself in the shoes of PressMet. You wonder why they closed and moved, not to mention WoodMeister?

They knew mfg had no future in this area.


Bill

Gabe said...

Jahn re parking:

You do what everyone else who goes out in a real city does. You figure it out. Get out of hicksville my friend.