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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Barry Simon posted in FLINTOIDS.
Barry Simon 8:56am Mar 6
... "Smith Village - Idiocy Defined" (Sunday's "Journal") .... So, the "government" will spend more than $190,000 per unit to build houses in an area that can't support a $30,000 price tag (but will sell them "at a subsidized price between $50 and $70 thousand"). And, it is doing so at a time when census data show a differential between housing units and households that's greater than 27,000 throughout the Flint area, while the workforce and population continue to shrink.
.... While homeowners across Metro Flint have thousands of homes for sale, and thousands more taken off the market because their value as plummeted so low they can't afford to sell, the City and Land Bank want to add these subsidized units to compete with its own property owners ... Idiocy? Insanity? Or, do some "Flintoids" actually believe completion of "Smith Village" has merit?
From FACEBOOk |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:49 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The land bank and Flint arecooperating to spend $16 million to build 83 homes in Smith Village, of which half will be for low income with downpayment assistance,
Barry Simon, a consultant with the Builders Association of Greater Flint has pointed out the obvious:
*There are 27,000 vacant homes in the county, and there should be no more contributions to the housing stock.
*Other genesee County communities are not building. ( Burton, Grand Blanc and other communities have unfinished subdivisions and can't sell the lots, some of which the community picked up through tax foreclosure when the builders failed.)
The whole problem comes from the late 90's when University Park and Smith Village were first conceived. Flint did not stick to he blueprint and never built any low income housing with the federal money. The apartment building for low income was never built and University Park became market rate. Mott foundation helped finish the project and general fund, water and sewer money paid for most of the infrastructure.
The University Park was in a Renaissance Zone and an Enterprise Zone with a tax abatement for most taxes until the last 3 years when the taxes increased gradually. Prospective buyers wanted the project completed and were shown on Channel 12 saying the whites had their subdisions and it was their (blacks) turn, There were problems with some homes and possibly some predatory lending as some residents have recently complained of double digit mortgage rates. A move by Carolyn Sims, former 5th ward Councilwoman, to extend the tax break never went anywhere.
Since construction of University Park, the neighborhood towards downtown has deteriorated. The two apartment complexes by Doyle Ryder School have seriously slid downhill since their construction about 30 years ago. One has had two murders in the last year. University Park has their own crime watch, which they need to stop burgularies and other crime in their subdivision. They recently had an arson of one of the homes.
These homes will have no tax breaks. |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:46 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I just watched City council and laughed to see Eason defend the decision to spend $30,000 in advertising for Smith Village in the CPSA Courier, produced by the Concerned Pastors for Social Action. This newspaper is free and distributed every Sunday in the Flint area churches and in some small businesses.This seems excessive for a newspaper claiming a distribution of 5,000 newspapers weekly.
This amounts to an ad every week for about 30 weeks, long enough to get through the political season. Or is this a ploy to silence some critics in the Concerned Pastors.
A $20,000 resolution for advertising with the radiofirm in Grand Blanc was cut because it was not widely listened to by African Americans. Minority owned Flint station WOWE and WFLT each got $5,000.
That begs the question of who thw ads are targeting. Are we only targeting the African American community? are we encouraging residents to give up their Flint homes to move into these new homes as Jackie Poplar suggested.
The only voice of reason was Josh freeman and I felt Poplar's laughing and attempts to berate him as offensive. In the 2006 census estimates Flint had a population that was 41.4% white and 53.5 % Black. Yet the council and the administration continually carries a predominately Black agenda.
In the past the Journal carried a report showing that African Americans were leaving Flint and showing their increase in numbers in the suburbs, If these individuals left for better schools and a more secure environment, do you really hink they will return? Flint's schools were shown last week to be near the bottom of producing college ready students. Doyle Ryder, the school nearest to the new development aalready has the influx of students from University Park. University Park has berms and fences and only two entances, and yet they are besieged with attempted B&Es . How will Smith village deal with these crime issues? How does walling propose to ensure the safety of these proposed new residents? |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 3:00 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
How will Smith village deal with these crime issues? How does walling propose to ensure the safety of these proposed new residents?
Either pull officers out of other areas to concentrate on Smith Village, or ignore them completely. I'll bet on the latter. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:56 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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| Feb. 28 council meeting aired today. Three separate resolutions for radio advertising, $10,000 each, to WOWE, WFLT and CUMULUS broadcasting. For Smith Village. |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:33 pm |
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shintz62
F L I N T O I D
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| Can't u guys come up with a way to do it with fewer negatives. The Village could be a path all over the city by Repairing the 27000 house. Come on guys lay out a 1. 2. 3. plan with costs figured. Present a plan right here and if it's good we will support it |
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Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:21 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Any plan considered must include palm greasing and kickbacks to be viable in Flint. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:06 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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quote:
shintz62 schreef:
Can't u guys come up with a way to do it with fewer negatives. The Village could be a path all over the city by Repairing the 27000 house. Come on guys lay out a 1. 2. 3. plan with costs figured. Present a plan right here and if it's good we will support it
Sorry the metal thieves have left most of these (at least the Flint houses) with very little redemption. Don't you get it that the populstion has left and no one needs more homes. If Flint residents leave Flint homes for new Flint homes, then there is more glut on the market.
What will the assessed value of these new homes be? And what will the impact be on the other new homes, the ones not subsidized. What impact will this have on University Park and Doyle Tyder School. Does the school have the capacity to absorb these students and does the school system have the money to reopen and rehab another school that was closed? Word is that Cook school was trashed when the school system rented it out to a church. |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I just pulled the city property lookup on the 2 MSHDA financed homes on Delaware. One has an assessed value of $24,500. This home cost over $150,000 to build and sold in the mid seventies. Today even the discounted sales price has lost over $25,000. University Park succeeded because they started with a new slate and they are having security issues despite fencing and berms.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:25 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Construction at Flint's Smith Village due to start in the spring
Smith Village construction in Flint due to start by spring
Tags:housing, building and development, flint, local, joel feick
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Joel Feick
More: Bio, E-mail, News Team
FLINT (WJRT) -- (03/07/11) -- The only new subdivision expected to be built in Genesee County this year will be in the heart of Flint, near downtown.
Ground is expected to be broken in a couple of months on Smith Village, just north of downtown off of Saginaw Street, across from University Park.
Actually, construction on Smith Village started more than a decade ago, when about a half-dozen homes were built.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling says the neighborhood is being brought back to life with federal funds.
The new homes will be heavily subsidized. They'll cost more than $175,000 to build, but will end up costing home buyers much less than that - perhaps just $50,000-$70,000.
Unlike its neighbor, University Park, that sits across the street, Smith Village won't get big property tax breaks. Buyers will instead get the break up front in the form of purchase price.
"We're looking to start this spring," Walling said. "We're working with the Land Bank, over 80 units, at a cost of $16 million. So it's a very substantial impact on our downtown area housing.
Not everybody thinks this is a good idea. An official with the Builders Association of Metro Flint calls it "idiocy," saying there is no market for these homes. Barry Simon says there are upwards of 27,000 homes for sale in Genesee County, and that federal money should be used to reduce current inventory.
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(Copyright ©2011 WJRT-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:53 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I just spoke to some individuals who tried to help the CPSA Courier make their newspaper profitable as it continued to run in a deficit. Obviously the $30,000 from the City of Flint is a political move to help them.
Usually an advertiser requires a proof of circulation. Personally I believe Eason bumped up the number of papers printed in an attempt to make the deal seem better, $1,000 a week for 30 weeks to the same church members each week does not seem like a good deal. Also the Flint ad has to be camera ready or I should say interenet ready. How much is being paid to create the ads? |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:58 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Years later, city of Flint still trying to create Smith Village subdivision
Published: Sunday, March 06, 2011, 4:28 PM Updated: Monday, March 07, 2011, 9:57 AM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
lAfter a decade of little progress, Smith Village now consists of mostly vacant lots and a few homes on Root Street in Flint. Using $16 million, Flint officials plan to build 80 houses here in the only major residential building project in Genesee County this year.
FLINT, Michigan — The failed Smith Village project started 13 years ago with good intentions and uplifting promises: luxury homes and a revitalized neighborhood in the heart of the city of Flint.
But it never happened, apart from a lonely row of six homes built just off North Saginaw Street.
Now, the city is trying for a do-over. Same good intentions and same promises, but hoping for a different outcome.
The “new” Smith Village is expected to be the only new subdivision built this year in all of Genesee County — not surprising given the recession and depressed housing market.
Using federal grant money, at least 83 new three- and four-bedroom homes are planned for the mostly vacant neighborhood just north of downtown Flint and across Saginaw Street from University Park Estates.
The question is: Will anyone buy them?
“With this particular housing market, I think that’s something you always have to be concerned with,” said Doug Weiland, executive director of the Genesee County Land Bank. “But ... when you look at
these particular houses, because they will be in the only real new subdivision, I think we’ll be drawing attention from people.”
The city and Land Bank are partnering to spend more than $16 million in federal grant money to finish the development, hailed as a charming community complete with new driveways, sidewalks, light posts, trees and newly paved streets.
At least half of the homes will be sold to low-income buyers and down-payment assistance will be available.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said the subdivision will help meet demand for housing within walking distance of downtown Flint. A study by the Downtown Development Authority showed a need for more than 250 housing units in the greater downtown area, he said.
“The regional housing market is shifting and more students and professionals and seniors are looking for a downtown urban living environment,” he said. “The occupancy rates in all of downtown
illustrate this demand is real.”
But some say the problems that hindered Smith Village the first time around still exist — and might be even worse on the heels of a nationwide recession.
There’s a surplus of 27,000 homes in the county and “the last thing government should be doing is adding to the housing stock,” said Barry Simon, consultant with the Builders Association of Metro Flint.
Other communities have little to no new residential building going on. The city of Burton, for example, has had one residential new build permit so far this year. Flushing, Mt. Morris and Davison haven’t had any.
Throughout the county, newer subdivisions sit partially finished because of the local economy, Simon said.
"There’s no housing market. There’s absolutely zero housing market. It just does not exist,” he said. “Let’s get real: This is idiocy.”
Housing values have fallen more than 30 percent since 2005, Simon said, and nearly 7,000 properties are sliding into foreclosure.
Despite the skepticism, city officials are pressing forward with the project, in large part because Smith Village is more than just another new development. It’s another chance for the city to complete the government project, started in 1998 with a grant from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The city completed the nearby University Park with the grant funds, but didn’t sell the required number of homes to low-income families — which the city said it would do in the never developed Smith Village.
Over the years, city officials talked of restarting Smith Village, but nothing ever happened.
But now there’s an extra incentive. Unless the project is completed, the federal government is threatening to force the city to repay $1.3 million, some of the money originally given to the city for Smith Village. That’s money officials say the cash-strapped city can’t afford to pay.
Flint resident Chris Del Morone isn’t happy that a large portion of the city’s $25 million federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program phase two grant money is being spent on Smith Village.
“Money is being taken from other tracts of the city,” Del Morone told the Flint City Council recently.
With or without the feds’ ultimatum, officials said the new subdivision still makes sense for Flint.
“We can improve the core of the city,” City Administrator Gregory Eason said of the project. “There may be an opportunity for (city residents) to move into a better home that may not cost them more than what they’re living in right now.”
The first phase of the Smith Village plan is already under way, led by project developer Metro Community Development, a Flint-based nonprofit.
Officials hope to break ground in May, and have the first 43 houses built by December. The target end date is December 2012.
The development is being touted as “high-quality” homes with picturesque streetscapes, front porches and rear patios.
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Officials point to the success of University Park Estates, the 160-home subdivision started at the same time as Smith Village, as proof that the concept can work.
But University Park buyers got different incentives for moving into the subdivision than prospective Smith Village buyers will.
University Park homes were sold at market rate, but the homes were in a Renaissance Zone, meaning homeowners didn’t have to pay property taxes for 12 years.
Smith Village buyers, on the other hand, would not get the advantage of the Renaissance Zone, since it’s expiring next year. But the homes will be sold for a subsidized price, expected to be about $50,000 to $70,000, depending on the size — although the cost of building the new
subdivision equates to $195,000 per unit, according to the Metro
Community Development website.
“These homes are going to sell at very attractive prices,” Weiland said, adding that more than 1,000 homes were sold in Flint last year. “I recognize a lot of people are skeptical of these kinds of plans,
but this was always planned to be a companion to University Park.
“My expectation is Smith Village will be every bit as nice.” |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:09 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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$60,000 in advertising for Smith Village is exorbitant for targeting only a certain low-income segment of the community.
What will the taxable value be on the home--the sale price or the building value? How will any low-income owner be able to pay the taxes, insurance and mortgage? And what would "students and professionals and seniors" want with 3 and 4-bedroom homes? |
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Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:34 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The taxable value cannot be higher than the ourchase price. When Flint spent $55,000 up to $112,000 remodeling area homes for low income, the taxable value had to remain the same or reasonably close. The remodeled homes in Smith Village were only supposed to cost up to $55,000 and that was to bring homeowners up to code and put siding, etc to help them fit in with the new homes.
The problem with many of these homes was that they had been neglected for so long that structural problems arose. The agency failed to properly inspect homes for inclusion in the program, One wall collapsed and had to be corrected. Plus the entity doing the repair work named themselves the developer and violated many HUD rules. They did not ensure insurance was maintained n the homes and that taxes were being paid. One large home had the insurance lapse and a fire started where a new electric vent was installed. Five family members became homeless.
Metro Housing did the income verifications for the two houses on Delaware. HUD officials were angered when one family did not show all of the family members and income. The other house went to a retired GM executive when it was meant for a family.
Similar problems occurred in Smith Village. Total family income was not reported and not all of the persons living in the home were shown. It is a crime to lie on a federal application and it appeared that in some instances the agency doing the repair work helped perpetuate the frauds.
Some house had other agencies do code work and repairs in the past. While the money was not intended for cosmetic work, that is what happened. Carpeting, flooring, kitchen remodeling, etc was done. The agency even carpeted a third floor attic because the resident liked to sit up there. Houses with rental units were not reflected in the specifications or counted.
The ciity passed on repair work that clearly did not meet HUD standards. Upstairs windows were covered by vinyl siding. Upstairs windows were installed that did not allow a firefighter to ingress/egree in the event of a fire. The siding prevented one lady from opening her back door. A recently installed roof was replaced with one that leaked. No heat reached the upstairs bedroom in one home and the supposedly new furnace was not new. The old fuel tank was left in the basement and fumes could be smelled from upstairs.
Then you have the HUD issue. One resident complained their house was not being remodedled because of a drug raid. The agency claimed they had to remodel it any way because the homeowner complained to HUD. The agencies disregard for cost led to 12 homes not being finished
Remember the disaster with the HUD 235 homes? Eason announced the city is tearing down all of them in the area of Cloverlawn and Home Avenue.
Habitant for Humanity has a much better program when it comes o housing for low to moderate income home buyers.
The two new homes on Delaware are appraised way below the purchase price and I am sure it is because of the crappy neighborhood they are in.
The housing market is not supposed to bottom out for at least 2 years. |
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Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:45 am |
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