This is a perfect example of how TIFs can be radically changed without an open community process.
Wilson Yard was originally mixed-income housing, movie theaters and retail, a wide pedestrian walkway with benches and landscaping, and townhouses on the Truman tennis court/parking area.
There were 6 companies involved in developing Wilson Yard. Hal Lichterman,was on board for the market rate housing and saw the light, a well respected retail company was next to drop out, and so gradually all the little Indians were gone, until there was one.
Holsten is it. Owner, developer, head poo-ba of Wilson Yard. See the wonder of your TIF property taxes at work.
Actual daycare for children would actually be a much better way to spend the TIF money (although I do think it would be inappropriate use.) Single income, female headed households often need subsidized housing because they just can't earn money and raise kids at the same time. Just sayin'...
That daycare is supposed to care for the children of the persons who are working the jobs created by this TIF. So far no Holsten has created nothing in this TIF but non-profit entities that suck off the government tit and contribute no tax dollars to the TIF revenue.
But creative Peter Holsen found a solution for this dilemma too! The $2 million to be spent on day care is now being justified by low income housing residents offered rent decreases by sweeping halls one day a months or so. That qualifies as a job created in the TIF so SPEND HOSTEN SPEND.
"The $2 million to be spent on day care is now being justified by low income housing residents offered rent decreases by sweeping halls one day a months or so."
Do you have documentation for this, reality chick? Also, please help me out. It says here that 78 rental units are for low income residents. Is there a need for $2 million in daycare for this many households? Presumably there has been some sort of needs assessment study which estimated that this was the correct figure. Where is that?
Also, I am really struggling with how you would actually prove local demand for this housing when the dates keep getting pushed out. Unfortunately, as time has gone on it is likely that some of the people who they didn't want to get pushed out of the neighborhood did leave. Is their argument that local demand is so overwhelming that it doesn't matter that the target population may have shrunk?
A lot of the furor over this issue could be addressed if there was a really good study conducted about local demand. I think local residents might come around a bit more if they were assured that this project addressed current local demand and not city-wide demand.
So Holsten is developing it and getting the Low Income Tax Credits into a Low Income Housing Partnership.
Then the low income housing credits will be spun off to low income housing investors who can use those credits to offset their tax liability.
That selling of credits will be done with a bank using a prospectus that shows the economics of the entire Apartment deal. We need to get a copy of that prospectus. It should be accessible by FOIA because the City has it or has access to it and it is funded by taxpayer dollars.
Then, Catholic Charities ends up with the Wilson Yard Apartments to managage.
I don't see how that Day Care can be legally built and funded from TIF funds with no Target and no TIF jobs. There have to be TIF jobs to support TIF funding for a daycare.
I don't see any jobs. I don't see any businesses, just non-profits sucking away all the real estate taxes paid by the 50% of the parcels that pay tax in the neighborhood.
This is a perfect example of how TIFs can be radically changed without an open community process.
ReplyDeleteWilson Yard was originally mixed-income housing, movie theaters and retail, a wide pedestrian walkway with benches and landscaping, and townhouses on the Truman tennis court/parking area.
There were 6 companies involved in developing Wilson Yard. Hal Lichterman,was on board for the market rate housing and saw the light, a well respected retail company was next to drop out, and so gradually all the little Indians were gone, until there was one.
Holsten is it. Owner, developer, head poo-ba of Wilson Yard. See the wonder of your TIF property taxes at work.
Fascinating! Who'd have thought that TIF money could be budgeted to pay for **DAYCARE** to the tune of $2 million....
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by daycare?
ReplyDeleteActual daycare for children would actually be a much better way to spend the TIF money (although I do think it would be inappropriate use.) Single income, female headed households often need subsidized housing because they just can't earn money and raise kids at the same time. Just sayin'...
That daycare is supposed to care for the children of the persons who are working the jobs created by this TIF. So far no Holsten has created nothing in this TIF but non-profit entities that suck off the government tit and contribute no tax dollars to the TIF revenue.
ReplyDeleteBut creative Peter Holsen found a solution for this dilemma too! The $2 million to be spent on day care is now being justified by low income housing residents offered rent decreases by sweeping halls one day a months or so. That qualifies as a job created in the TIF so SPEND HOSTEN SPEND.
I hear Peter Holsten is writing his memoirs:
ReplyDelete"How to SUCK a TIF Fund Dry for Dummies" by Peter Holsten.
"How to Profit from the Government Dole, in 23 Years or Less" by Peter Holsten.
"The $2 million to be spent on day care is now being justified by low income housing residents offered rent decreases by sweeping halls one day a months or so."
ReplyDeleteDo you have documentation for this, reality chick? Also, please help me out. It says here that 78 rental units are for low income residents. Is there a need for $2 million in daycare for this many households? Presumably there has been some sort of needs assessment study which estimated that this was the correct figure. Where is that?
Also, I am really struggling with how you would actually prove local demand for this housing when the dates keep getting pushed out. Unfortunately, as time has gone on it is likely that some of the people who they didn't want to get pushed out of the neighborhood did leave. Is their argument that local demand is so overwhelming that it doesn't matter that the target population may have shrunk?
A lot of the furor over this issue could be addressed if there was a really good study conducted about local demand. I think local residents might come around a bit more if they were assured that this project addressed current local demand and not city-wide demand.
So Holsten is developing it and getting the Low Income Tax Credits into a Low Income Housing Partnership.
ReplyDeleteThen the low income housing credits will be spun off to low income housing investors who can use those credits to offset their tax liability.
That selling of credits will be done with a bank using a prospectus that shows the economics of the entire Apartment deal. We need to get a copy of that prospectus. It should be accessible by FOIA because the City has it or has access to it and it is funded by taxpayer dollars.
Then, Catholic Charities ends up with the Wilson Yard Apartments to managage.
I don't see how that Day Care can be legally built and funded from TIF funds with no Target and no TIF jobs. There have to be TIF jobs to support TIF funding for a daycare.
I don't see any jobs. I don't see any businesses, just non-profits sucking away all the real estate taxes paid by the 50% of the parcels that pay tax in the neighborhood.