07-09-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING Jul y 9 20l 8 would be about$105,000. We are asking to abate about$66,982 with the remaining$37,918 to be paid over that five (5) year period. Both projects have three (3) years to start and be completed. They are also being supported with$1 million of TIF funds. Anne Mannix, 724 West Washington Street, South Bend, IN, served as the petitioner for this bill. Ms. Mannix stated, This development is being developed by a team. I am working on it, South Bend Heritage, Kil Architecture, bankers, accountants and funding partners are all part of this team. We hope the City is a funding partner. The site is an outgrowth of the Main Street Corridor Plan and the 1,000 Houses in 1,000 Days initiative. We are building houses where they were torn down before. We have a varied market. It is affordable housing. We market to families, young people and will have a few homeless residents as well as a few residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities. I won't go over it all but this is a competitive process. We are applying for low-income housing tax credits and it's competitive. City support will help us get points in the scoring for the tax credits. We appreciate the City support very much. Councilmember Jo M. Broden asked, Beyond the tax-credits, are there any additional ways to support, particularly the residential developments? Whether it be the sewer hook ups or the sidewalks? I know that came in on the later side of your previous projects and I'm just wondering if that had been looked at. Ms. Mannix replied, We are looking into off-site improvements. We need to have$100,000 in off- site improvements within a fourth mile of every single site. So we are working with Community Investment to figure that out. We have been talking to Council Members about sidewalks on that. Councilmember Jo M. Broden followed up, How are the locations of the residential lots identified and how were they acquired? Ms. Mannix replied, The State has a program called the blight elimination program so they gave the City money to tear down houses. If we get lots that have been in the blight elimination program we get more points. So we checked those lots out and found the best ones we could and we're buying those from the NNN and through the Urban Enterprise Association. They were all on the tax-sale before the houses were torn down. We get points for that too. Councilmember Jo M. Broden followed up, In terms of integrating, we have heard of a number of different projects with AmeriCorps and others, is there a way to integrate the balance of a given block so we have some synergy and collective help? I looked at the distribution of your properties and I think all of the site selection has one(1)in a given block with the exception of two (2)homes within one(1). I'm just wondering if there is any dovetailing here or collaboration across the other opportunities we have funded or are looking to support. Ms. Mannix replied, Well once we get funding we will have a meeting with people in the neighborhood and let them know what is going on. One (1)man was taking pictures and we came out and he asked us what we were doing. He wanted the lot and I said sorry we are using it. He wanted an owner occupied rehab grant and if you looked at his house,he could certainly use it. So I think we should try and coordinate with the owner occupied home improvement grants and the sidewalks grants. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Jason Banicki-Critchlow, 3822 West Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated, Over the years no one (1) has ever advocated for more low-income housing more than me. However, what makes me apprehensive about this is both the involvement of the non-profit entity that was also responsible for the triangle neighborhood which was supposed to get mixed-income housing there. They got tax abatements and if you drive there and see it,if you consider mixed-income starting at$500,000 and going up, maybe that is where it is at. There is low-income housing and they evicted all those low-income residents to acquire those lots. It also worries me as we continue facing increased violence in this City that we continue to put all of our low-income housing West of Lafayette Street. When you concentrate poverty as we continue to do, it has a tendency to correlate in increased violence. There are lots East of downtown where we could build low-income housing as well and kind of disperse into these mixed-income pockets that we all know would be beneficial. ' e build clusters of more and more concentrated poverty. And I m apprehensive when w bu , 12