Ok, I do remember the comment about financing could be jeopardized but didn’t catch the change to include it (I was at a bar in Charlotte watching and had some streaming issues). Thank you for the clarification.
@John, I agree with you in principal but of course I don’t really want that to happen. I’d prefer they delay and push to the next council and we get the right people making better decisions for our city. I want my cake and eat it too, dammit.
I know there are much smarter people than me out there, but for the life of me I don’t understand the concept of including x% of the units at Phase 3 for affordable housing. How do they even define this? X percent discount in rent for x percent of the units? I run numbers (some pretty big ones) for a living and let me point out the obvious that this will put a real dent in the pro forma.
I’ll keep my toe out of the political waters here but don’t people understand how much further this money would go in even another section of downtown much less a few miles away? Think about the working poor that need a good place to call home for their families. I’m not saying they don’t deserve to live downtown but I bet they had rather have a little more space for their families and maybe even a few sprigs of grass. So many more could be helped (for much longer) by taking a different approach.
This council is really bad. I wish more people cared about what is going on. And quite honestly I’m even tired of writing them … they only listen to each other.
ARGH!
maybe CC needs to take a look at all the high-rise affordable housing that was build in 50’s, 60’s 70’s that has now been demolished. They only served to prove (for what ever reason) and concreting low income housing does not work. Idea of spreading it around a few units here, a few there seem to work much better.
Check out my post in the RUSBUS thread. This is what the city defined and is being required in that project. I suspect it will be something similar to this. I don’t know how they came up with 20 units in that context but the “affordable” definition is what the city came up with. Not sure what Kane will be held to be it a % or specific number of units.
They won’t look at anything. Everything we do in Raleigh is a first.
That definition of affordable reads more like an early in career professional single/couple, rather than those who are truly in need. Is this really where our affordability crisis lands, $74,480???
If so, that’s insane.
My first job after leaving home I made about $26k in Richmond, VA. I just barely qualified to live in a low income apartment community, and my rent was the max I could afford at the time. It looked just like any other 1980s/1990s suburban apartment community, but they got big tax breaks for keeping the rents affordable for lower income folks. I had to qualify before I could sign my lease, and I was right at the very top of the bracket. (If I made $1k more, I wouldn’t have qualified).
I wonder what ‘guideline’ they are using to draw the line for ‘affordable’. I am sure we all remember the 10 on Person.
My first job out of college paid even less, though I suspect that I’m older. My roommate and I lived in a roach infested apartment with no AC near Meredith College off of Hillsborough Street. It was market rate, and the market for that place wasn’t very high.
I understand there are poeple that for some reason beyond their control can not make enough to afford anything that’s livable and think they should receive help. But does not mean a lux apartment.
In early 70’s when just getting started in computer field was living in run down apartment just off Hillsborough east of NCSU making in just barely the low teens salary. Was built in 1940’s no AC, no insulation, tiny kitchen and bath, but it was what I could afford and did not complain about others that had much nicer places. Live where you can afford and work hard in order to move up. Now in ~1m dollar house on 10 acres on mountain top.
Oh, I’m in total agreement with you. The next step is going to be that this affordable housing MUST have access to all of the luxury features and amenities afforded to the market rate housing.
Two pictures below. One last Tuesday and one today. Tried for the same angle. These people get stuff done.
The webcam for Phase 1 shows a bit of the Phase 2 portion, off to the right.
It’s interesting to check the time lapse and watch this area, as you can see the demo of the buildings on that site. Seemed to take just a couple days.
Hopefully they’ll get a webcam for the Phase 2 side…
Could Kane make the apartments on the lower floors facing capital blvd affordable housing? I know the plan right now is to not have apartments there at all since no one would want to face the road.
I love how you can see the footprint now of the office building, the streets, the apartments across from the office, the parking deck, and the apartments that will wrap about the deck. Pretty damn excited for this project!
Give it a week or two!
Are they forcing Kane to put affordable housing in phase III !? If so, this is absolutely ridiculous!
This has the potential to make those living in the “affordable housing” feel even more like second-class citizens. Once developers were forced to include X amount of affordable units in Manhattan, they almost completely separated them from the luxury units with people referring to it as the “Poor Door” and excluded them from sharing common areas. The city then had to create a whole new law just to address this, although some developers are still trying to find loop-holes.
-I’m not saying Kane or his development would do this, but it makes you wonder when they mention this would affect their financing
I don’t think it’s forced, but it might as well be. Kane is doing what they have to based on feedback from councilors. Russ and Stef for instance have basically said (don’t quote me on this) that they’ll support the rezoning request if affordable housing is included. They aren’t adding it as a condition officially, but Kane knows the rezoning is in jeopardy without it.
Lets be honest - the “affordable housing” here would be for low income tech workers just starting out their careers not minority families on food stamps.
