I think it is inaccurate to suggest that "[t]here are plenty of affordable rental units in St. Paul today," and that further subsidies of rental units is wasteful. There is probably a healthy vacancy rate right now for apartments that rent in the $700-1000 range, but I suspect there is almost a zero vacancy rate for decent rental units available to families in the low income category, i.e., making 30 percent or less of the St. Paul median income, or about $20,000 a year. Those folks might be paying as much as 40 to 50 percent of their income to find decent housing, so while they may have housing, it is not close to affordable in terms of how the Federal government defines affordable housing (no more than 30 percent of ones income spent on housing). Part of the problem with referring to general vacancy rates as evidence that there is not a housing shortage in a community is that it masks what types of housing are experiencing a significant vacancy rate, i.e., is it sub-standard, is it low income, is it middle income, is it luxury townhomes? The matter is also complicated further by the expanded definition for affordable housing, i.e., "affordable housing" no longer refers simply to low income families, but also to those who might earn 50 or 80 or even 110 percent of the area or community median income.
So I would argue that while there may be a lot of "affordable" housing in St. Paul--using the expanded definition of what that term means--there is a shortage of housing for those families who are low income or near the poverty line. I'm sorry that Bill might not see it that way, but housing advocates are attempting to get a study funded that will actually give us numbers about what kinds of housing, at what rental rates, are currently available in the city, so that the mayor's Housing 5000 plan can be more accurately evaluated in terms of whether it's meeting the need for low income housing (my personal opinion: it is not) or merely adding lots of market rate units to a marketplace that already has enough of that type of housing (and which may explain why vacancy rates have jumped, as people are leaving older properties for some of these newer properties, either as purchasers or renters). I'm also surprised that Bill is suggesting that the "oversupply of rental housing in St. Paul . . .is so commonly known that St. Paul Public Housing Authority just cut the payments to landlords by 7% declaring that market rents have gone down." Actually, Bill, unless you know something that I don't, the St. Paul PHA reduced payments to landlords because of the drastic cuts in the Federal Section 8 program (which the PHA administers in St. Paul) that were made retroactive to last year, and the 7 percent was a compromise from the originally proposed 15 percent reduction that landlords warned would cause them to opt out of the Section 8 subsidy program. So using those cuts as evidence that there is a glut of affordable housing in St. Paul dramatically misrepresents the housing situation here. Tom Goldstein Mac-Groveland ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Cullen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 7:26 AM Subject: [StPaul] Midway - Senior Housing Project Tom Goldstein wrote: As someone who now works for an organization whose mission is to increase the supply of affordable housing throughout the state, and given the great need for affordable housing in St. Paul (especially for seniors), I think it's a good thing that projects are being planned that will hopefully make a dent in the gap between income and what's affordable (i.e., no more than 30 percent of one's income spent on housing). Bill Cullen Responds: No longer true. The oversupply of rental housing in St. Paul has dropped rents significantly. This is so commonly known that St. Paul Public Housing Authority just cut the payments to landlords by 7% declaring that market rents have gone down. There are plenty of affordable rental units in St. Paul today. The continued subsidy of rental units is wasteful. Bill Cullen East Side Landlord. _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
