First of all imagine if you or I fixed up a building with our own money and called the Telegram to run a story on the grand opening. In the world of Low to Mod Income housing you not only can do this but have a great story run for free, check out today's Telegram.
Good news, however, is I think we set a new record. The cost to renovate 44 apartments comes in at 23 million or a cool $522,727 per unit. That must be wrong, let me double check. Nope that it right. Right now I am speechless and need to sign off. You spend $522,727 per unit and you have a party?
In the private sector the only party you would be having is in the bankruptcy court.
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
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This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
23 comments:
With all due respect Bill, cost per unit notwithstanding, this is news and should be covered by the local daily. In fact, Erin Williams just mentioned on WTAG that an arts gallery is opening in one of the spaces which is right across the street from the home of Arts Worcester. She also commented that some of the units are being leased to local artists. Maybe the long awaited Arts District is finally taking shape? As Gabe has pointed out previously in several postings, maybe we should rethink our biases that all income based property is automatically a bad thing.
And I might point out that the article also mentions that phase 2 of the project includes market rate apartments.
Bill,
Off topic but did you get my email about the breaking news regarding Worcester Airport?
dave
You are right about it being news. No, I did not get the e-mail.
Bill
Bill,
My email was about the state transportation bill being signed by the House & Senate, includes the transfer of Worcester Airport to Massport! It's official as of July 1, 2010. Scott Zoback from Worcester Magazine reported it this morning on WTAG with Jim Polito.
With Massport knowing they're going to officially take over the airport, I predict that we have an airline flying to NYC by fall.
Phase 1 - Hadley - was supposed to be market rate units with no rental subsidies:
http://telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/NEWS/703200369/1002/BUSINESS
I think more money was spent than should have been but it is good to see new housing downtown.
I like breaking news about ORH!
tim:
if it was market rate housing, I would agree with your assessment. we do not, however, need any more low to mod income housing downtown.
bill
Bill,
Artists qualify for low to moderate income housing.
I recently blogged in one of your previous threads of the remarkable transformation of Pittsburgh after the collapse of the steel industry. Their downtown is now being transformed into a real neighborhood enough to support the first downtown grocery store.
Most of the housing development (conversions of previously vacant businesses just like the Hadley project) were initially of the low to moderate income variety.
Now the new projects being built are for the most part all upscale market rate housing.
The City has been Had-leyed. More NO Low income housing with inadequate parking built under the aupisces of being market rate housing.!!!!!!!!
Wat in Lords name will they put for business in on teh first floor. My predictions include possibly:
1. Nail Saloon
2. Chinese take -out
3. Dollar Store
4. Se Cambien Cheques Store
5 Convinence store
6. Pawn Shoppe
7. Carribean travel agency
8. Consignment store
7. Seccion Ocho office
8. Police precinct station.
9. Lottery office for when they have to start having a lottery to move the units
I will also predict there will be no Mcdonadls there
Dave if it's reportable news when a NO/Low project has their ribbon cutting......why is not news.....when a NO low project fails........witness Cambridge & Camp St area. Wonder if it will be news in June 2010 when the place is still 83% vacant and the "Hadleys" approach the city council for a Hand It Over Theare deal........10 years of no real estate tax...........on the other hand if they did spend $500,000 per unit they are prime candidates to be Non profit corporation......and then they will not have to pay property taxes ever.
These NO Low guys are like firemen and common street walkers.....attention whores.......like calling up the T&G everytime they jump into Indian Lake in the middle of January with Rushton being the 1st in the 10 degree water .....or standing out in the middle of Park Ave on Labor day weekend with boots for Jerrys kids.
Planes that land safely shouldnt be reportable news unless Nobama, Havana Jim, or Bill Clinton is on baord....
I am not negative....I am a realist......all we've going to get in there is more Daytime (Worc) Common Walkers (and sleepers)
BTW folks.....i was cruisuing teh hood Wedn evening...drove by Pleaasant & Winslow Pocket park.....stuck in trafiic there for an instant.......gal sitting there on bench while watching a small kid..........tokin' on a left handed cigarette......or at leasst it sure looked that way to me given how she was holding it and how long she sucked in teh smoke for........a cop pulls out the elderly high rise on pleasant st and she takes teh left hand cigarette and pockets it...no pun intenended
For the record she was right handed
Anyone have anything to say about David Z's Pittsburgh report or are you just going to ignore it and keep bitching?
Yeah... that's what I thought.
Gabe:
Artists qualify for low to mod income? Anyone can qualify for low to mod income irregardless of their occupation as they as they have low to mod income. Have you seen alot of artists move in to thhe building next to the Mart, the Standish Building across the YMCA or the new building on May Street? Whhat makes you think artists will move in here???
You are right the new projects that are to be built next to Hadley are supppose to be market rents. Gabe, no way in hell are you going to get financing to build market driven project here. Its no going to happen.
You have to understand how these projects are financed. The 23 million to finance Hadley most likely has all sorts of grants in the form of low-mod income housing credits or historical credits. In other words, although the cost may have been 23 million for the developer they probably only ended up having to pay back 5 to 8 million in debt.
Privately financed projects for market driven rents have no subsidies. If the project costs 10 million, it costs 10 million.
Gabe, I hope I am wrong and the Hadley iis flooded with artists and the urabn core turns into the next Piittsburgh.
Bill
Sorry guys, I just dont see artists having lotsa dinero.............therefore we dont need them........we need people with dispoable income downtown.......artists always seem to have their hand out...e.g. looking for free space to do their art thingie.....where do they get off with baloney
just raze the old factory buildings and grass it over...........refurbishing these structues into more NO LO is not the answer and only gets worc closer to Springfiled status
BTW I drove by Great Brook Valley the other day ...saw heavy equipment from Western Mass.........does Worc Housing Authority buy Local?.........fellow countrymen of Raybo too...
Niche Hospitality Group (Bocado, Block 5, Mezcal) to operate a new Rib joint opening in the Hadley.
http://www.wbjournal.com/news43761.html
Certainly a better tenant than what I thought they would be able to pull in.
not for nothing Gabriel..but many of us commenting on this no-lo housing have developed our own and with our own money - I have rehabbed a few myself and not just in WooTown and am starting a project in a few weeks once the damn historic commission gets off my back...I far from consider myself a bitchah on these issues...for that matter a number of us are reaching into our own pockets and in a mucho way for this upcoming festival in the urban core that you are missing to be in Boston...if you got something to say then spell it out mate...I spoke about Pittsburgh with Counselor Rosen at a neighborhod meeting a few weeks back..when was the last time you took work off to sit with City Councilors about neighborhood issues..I do every damn week as do a few on this blog.
I have a three deckah on the historic commision hit list just like Hadley..I can assure you that once it is done it will be a primo property and just as valuable to my neighborhood and for a lot less than $500+K a unit...my own money also! How much of your own money have you dropped into a property in this city????
I do not have to go to Pittsburgh to see changing cities even tho I do like to learn about how cities have turned a new leaf and I have traveled to many to experience this..however I do prefer to look right in my own New England region when it comes to this issue as I believe it is more of a regional one for WooTown...since we are losing a good chunk of our educated population to these New England cities and burbs
You have a real nerve calling others white trash on yer blog..your own track record of success on what you suggest others should be doing is quite spotty- unless I am missing something.. perhaps you should start putting some of your own bread into a property and start planting some solid roots...
Yeah... that's what I thought.
who the f' wants to subsidize artists?.......I know many creative folks that create on their off time if they can not make a buck at it and if they are creative and smart they start their own business and do well...
yah, just what WooTown needs ..one more subsidized layer with no money
4Rilla....and just the other day on mi blog I mentioned that WooTown needed a BBQ...
BTW..I was over at Randell's Fine Liquors the other day and I had a clear view of your building...once that place is filled up..Wild Will is going to have to start loading up with some fine wines and good beer
Dave..having a new rib joint is great...and if the units do fill up with market rate tenants even bettah..the real issue is that little of this seems to be being done with private investment..WooTown is still for the most part being held up by the Feds..
It is hard to not smile when one sees the Hadley as it stands now..the sign stating $750 for 2-3 bedrooms..utilities included will make it very difficult for many private landlords to compete with that..and I am talking good private landlords not slum landlords...I do not see what that sign states as being market rate.
The other night I saw a whole slough of young kids running around the rear parking lot of the bldg in their pajamas after dark..I know what this behavior has done to my market rate apartments in this city and for years...it attracts more of this kind of parenting and less of what this city needs more of...
We have been rahing rahing Union Station now for how many years....I prefer to sit back and watch a ittle before I start calling others naysayers about a very expensive project....putting no-loers in $525K units (why not just buy em' houses on the west side)..where is the incentive to lift oneself up off the ground???
I'm fairly certain that if the BBQ restaurant wasn't a huge gamble, that Niche Hospitality would be the owners and not just the operators. The restaurant owners are owners/investors of the Hadley building showing just how many
Worcesterites can afford to take the risk.
The T&G reporter for thsi Hadley article should go back the Hadleys folks and ask them fro some detail re how where the $23M came from....and then where it went.........I wonder how much was paid to developers for a constr managemetn fee and for dev'ment fees...
As a previous blogger has noted...one could build 23 new 2000 Sq ft homes with attached garages on the west side of Worcester or in the Worc burbs and still have money left over from the $23M.
Am I reading you guys right.........the Hadley clan is now going to open a Ribs joint (Rib Crib??) restaurant on the ground level??? ....but 8-10 years ago McD's couldnt build there w/o a zoning change and/or variance? Bill do you recall?......is my memory correct re: why Mc'D's couldnt get built on that site?
And the City council is/was worried about the bad atmosphere surrounding 1 or 2 mobile food vendors.....cant wait to see what that area turns into at 1:00 or 2:00 am on a Sundae Mourning if this rib joint operates during those hours. Just Park The Paddy Wagon there. (I am Irish so I can use that term :) ) More of what will bring the middle class to down town Worc........a late night rib joint a that location.........The Hand It Over Theatre and their clientele will just love the spill over from Main & Madison
well I would disagree with you on the BBQ idea Senor Jahn...Redbones in Davis Square was one of the lynchpins of change for it in the mid to late 80's..I know I owned a stool at the end of the bar for years..stil there today..and they have a space in Fenway Park now...again private money..Rob & Karen owners of Redbones leased out part of the building that they own today..bought out the owners of the building who also had a saloon in the place eventually..it was called Barnaby's and today it is a multi-million dollar BBQ establishment.
This all being said, the reality is that folks in this city are afraid of gentrification....the bottom line is that it means folks of less means and in this city it will mean a lot of freeloaders are going to get squeezed out...this plan of mixing no-lo incomers in with gentrifiers aint happening anywhere else and it aint gonna happen here...Senor Jahn has been barking about it for a long time as have I...this city needs more than the west side for nice places to live to survive...it's a hard reality but a reality..all weekend long I heard loud music and had to watch 5-8 grown men and women being drunk on the front porch next door--none who work or contribute a minutia of citzenry to this city..this sucks and I do not care how many in this city think it is the way it has been and always been..I aim to push the shite out..
However I do agree with Senor Jahn..I am very suspect of a rib joint succeeding there with what I saw running around at night last week and have already posted....I am ecentric living here..most are not and will not spend their hard earned money around places that make them uncomfortable..watching 5 and 6 year old kids in their pajamas running around the Hadley Parking lot after dark makes most good folks uneasy...these were most likely new tenants of the project.
Democrats used to live amoung the little people...now they live high up the hill with everyone else.
Gabriel;
I am curious about your tranformation..only months ago you had this long rant on yer blog and a number of others in regards to the no-lo going into the Canal District...now you are banging with guys who have generally stayed on the same path and have more than stated their cases and many with mucho experience within the urban core..other than a "Yeah... that's what I thought." perhaps you could more succinctly state a case...what is your opinion on Pittsburgh..do you have one...can you substantiate Dave Z's point or are we to just assume it is correct and go rah rah instead of "bitching"....
Again, I do not consider my opinions bitching...nor others on this blog who contribute regularly and many I know are very active in this city....I remember when the yellow box issue was succumbing us..many on this blog were "bitching"...we also were at comunity hearings and we got the program changed...or should I say more palatable to those of us not on drugs, not leaving needles on streets but grossly effected by the stigma these boxes presented to our investments and hard work many of us had been doing to change this stigma....our "bitching" and taking time off from work to get involved worked....other than "bitching" about some of us..what have you been doing lately????
Paul,
Here is a link to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Please take note of some of the starting rents. Hardly upscale if you ask me.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09111/964228-28.stm
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