No. 0908 expanding the boundaries of the WWCDA, expanding the allocation area for purposes of TIF, and amending the development plan

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o Within the study area's historic district, investment continues in substan- tial housing improvements. Encouragement of housing rehabilitation by young families seeking affordable older homes will further stabilize the Near Westside Neighborhood and strengthen the demand for resales of renovated homes. o The feasibility of building new rental or owner- occupied housing in the study area is limited. Given local construction costs, it is unlikely that new housing can be built with acceptable sales prices or rent levels unless major public subsidies are provided. New market -rate units with rents or purchase prices adequate to cover all development costs would not be marketable in the study area in the near future. 2. Retail Market o Retail development potential in new or rehabilitated buildings within the study area exists primarily along major thoroughfares such as Lincolnway and Western Avenue. There is little support for additional retail estab- lishments in the study area's former commercial concentrations along Washington and Chapin Streets. o Given the negative image of these two former commercial concentrations and the competition for limited study area expenditures, other types of neighborhood improvements, such as housing improvements, will be re- quired before additional retail development will have adequate support. 3. Other Commercial and Light Industrial Uses o Demand continues for office space in converted older homes even though interest in converting historic homes to offices has decreased somewhat due to changes in the federal tax laws. o A small quantity of light industrial space should be marketable in the western section of the study area in new and /or rehabilitated buildings, especially if the rental costs or purchase prices can be kept well below those in newer industrial areas. Adaptive Re -Use Analysis The Washington Street area contains 34 commercial buildings, of which 16 are vacant; and the Chapin Street area contains 10 commercial buildings, of which 5 are vacant. All of the vacant buildings are in deteriorating condition. Successful neighborhood revitalization will require elimination of existing blighted conditions through rehabilitation or redevelopment. In addition to understanding the market forces that affect the potential for commercial revitalization of the study area, it is also important to assess the economic feasibility of rehabilitating older commercial structures, or adaptive re -use of other structures for commercial activity. The commercial building at the northwest corner of Washington and Walnut was selected for a representative rehabilitation cost analysis. The detailed findings of that analysis appear as Appendix C to this report, while a summary is as follows: o The sample building is the west storefront unit of a three - storefront building of two stories height. The second floor of the unit contains two apartments. In brief, the unit requires an investment of approximately $21,250 for basic exterior repairs, plus $17,330 for minimal interior renovation to the commercial space, for 10