The article said: "In third-ring suburbs, Minn said, the cost is $2 to $3 per foot; for second ring suburbs it's $5 to $10 -- but for Minneapolis land it's $20 to $25 per foot."
BL: So why are we continuing to build this type of housing in the most expensive, most densely populated neighborhoods in the city? If we have to tear down existing buildings to do these projects and that drives up the costs, then why continue this bad policy? In fact, the changes to density zoning and the density bonuses have entrenched what now appears to be a bad policy even further. I can't tell you the number of times our neighborhood has been told that it is cheaper to build this type of housing in neighborhoods like mine then in other neighborhoods or the suburbs. It is for that reason that we should be relegated to the affordable housing mecca of the state. Based on Steve Minn's square footage prices, it is much cheaper to build this type of housing in the suburbs where there is now very little of it and it is very needed. I just don't seem to see the affordable housing advocates working to irradicate the policies in the suburbs that are preventing affordable housing from being built out there. Instead, they continue to work to further concentrate this housing in already saturated neighborhoods and where it is evidently very expensive to build. There are numbers of people who live in Whittier and Phillips that are bused or vaned each day to jobs in the suburbs because they can't find affordable housing near these jobs and these companies can't find available labor near their company locations in the suburbs. Seems like a big DUHHHHHH to me. The article said: "Why does it cost six figures to subsidize one affordable-housing unit? High land and construction costs, low rent and, some say, too little private money. Others say the price is well worth it in the long run." BL: As a member of the Whittier Affordable Housing Cooperative Stabilization Task Force in 1993 and 1999 I question the "long run" equation of this statement. In addition to the outrageously high prices the neighborhood paid to purchase property, tear it down and construct the affordable housing cooperatives in the late 80's, we were forced to invest $1.3M in 1993 and another $1.9M in 1999 to stabilize them financially. The $1.3M was a grant from the Whittier NRP funds. The $1.9M was from the National Equity Fund and I believe it was a loan, not a grant. Either way, these infusions of cash drove the overall per unit costs for these buildings to astronomical prices. Costs that could not be covered by the rents collected. Meaning that they would probably require an infusion of cash on a regular basis until the deed restrictions on rent expired in 20 or 30 years. Lucky for us, other non-profits have assumed ownership and management responsibility for this housing portfolio. I think what we have discovered is that these units can cash flow if done in conjunction with market rate units in a mixed use project. That is not to say that an initial subsidy won't be required for the affordable units in the development. If there is a role for government in these projects it is in providing the subsidies for the affordable portion of the mixed use developments. The other thing we learned is that volunteer neighborhood associations do not belong in the housing development or property management business. That should be left to developers who are in the development business and to professional property managers who have the expertise to do this difficult job. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
