Category Archives: Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing Development at 750 W. South Temple

A representative of the Vecino Group will attend the next community council
meeting (April 28, 6:30, Northwest Community Center, 1255 Clark Ave) to talk about their project at 750 W. South Temple (just outside our border in Poplar Grove) and answer questions of those in attendance may have. This visit is for informational purposes only as this development has passed the form based
zoning for the City and the City Council voted 4-3 to allow Salt Lake County Housing
Authority to build this structure in Salt Lake City.

The project planned is called Bodhi and will be a five-story building
including 80 units of one and two-bedroom apartments. 60 of the 80 units will be
held for those making 50% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). 50% of the
area median income for Salt Lake County is $36,100 for a family of 4. Of those 60
units, there will be 5 set aside for the chronically homeless, 9 units for the severely
and persistently mentally ill, and 9 units for those with a long-term mobility
disability. There will be full-time onsite services provided by the Salt Lake
Community Action Program.

This $12 million development is a partnership between the Vecino Group
and the Salt Lake County Housing Authority, and is being funded by Federal Low
Income Housing Tax Credits and $1 million from the Olene Walker Housing Trust
The Fairpark Community Council Executive Committee has been meeting
with stakeholders ever since we first heard about this development. Though we
welcome the higher densities that the Transit Station Area zoning provides along
the TRAX line, we are worried by the concentration of affordable units in this
development and along the TRAX corridor, and will continue to work with our city
council members to ensure that further developments along North Temple do not
have such a high proportion of affordable units.

Zoning Terms Primer

There is a lot of discussion about zoning, but what does it all mean?

Housing terms are often referred to in our discussions and presentations about housing: Affordable housing, Subsidized housing and Market rate housing. Here you can learn about things such as what “cost burdened” means, the percentage of Salt Lake residents who are cost burdened, how vouchers work, and what market value is.

Affordable housing: Families who pay more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. An estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more than 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing. A family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the US. In Salt Lake City, 50% of our renters are cost burdened and 25% of our renters are severely cost burdened (meaning they pay more than 50% of their income on rent).

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The Fairpark Community Real Estate Update

Well, you may have heard, real estate is booming, and has been for quite some time now. We have more qualified buyers than we have inventory to sell, thus the new construction boom has blossomed all over the valley. We have recovered from the worst of the recession, prices have come back up, and here’s the rub: interest rates are still at all-time lows, so with today’s rates (about 4%), at 2007 list prices, buyers can still purchase approximately 30% more home than they could 8 years ago when rates were hovering around 6%. That is a significant advantage.

Home owners are now out from under their mortgages with enough room to sell, and buyers have been busily picking up all the decent inventory for several years now. In our Fairpark Community boundaries, we currently have 8 active listings, 6 under contract, 41 homes have sold in the last six months with the top sales price at $269k. In fact, we’ve had 15 homes sell in the past 12 months with sales prices over $200k. Days on market for new listings are currently less than 30 days, and very often, it’s only matter of hours for many homes with multiple offers before going under contract. To say this is a hot market is an understatement.

If you find that your home is not selling, here’s the not-so-secret industry tip: it’s price or condition – and both can be remedied with a price reduction or repairs. It’s very simple. The buyers are speaking loud and clear – they are savvy to the market changes and they know the inventory. Don’t bank on the one buyer who “might” come along and pay you full price – if your home is sitting on the market and not producing an offer, meet with your Realtor and put a game plan together. There is not much worse for your home value than sitting on an over-priced listing for several months. Buyers become anxious that your home has problems and then it becomes stigmatized – everyone remembers “that” house….the one that sat listed for 3 years, etc. Don’t let that be your strategy. Be intent to sell, work with a knowledgeable Realtor, and price your home to move it. No wishful thinking or magical fairy dust will sell an overpriced listing, not even in a sizzling market.

The Fairpark Community is the place to be! We have an extraordinary quality of life, we have fantastic freeway access, and we’re close to everything. So get out and enjoy the trails, the sunshine and our beautiful city – we are so very lucky to live here!!

Brook Bernier is a Fairpark Community resident, Council Board member and is a real estate agent. Brook can be reached at brookbernier at gmail dot com.

Fairpark Community Council Hosts SLC Mayoral Candidate Forum

The Fairpark Community Council hosted a Candidate Forum for Salt Lake City Mayor to a packed house at its meeting on June 25 at the Northwest Community Center in Fairpark. All 5 candidates, or their representatives, participated in the brief introduction and overview of their races, followed by a group Q&A session. Good4Utah.com (Channel 4) recorded the session and posted their piece here.

The following is a recap of the candidate presentations.

Mayor Ralph Becker

Ralph Becker – Mayor Becker is has been in office for 8 years. His administration has rejuvenated the downtown, made significant improvements in transportation and has implemented equal rights policies in housing and employment. The city boasts #1 status in the U.S. for job creation and is in the top 10 cities for sustainability and livability. The city has initiatives in place that have decreased the carbon footprint, but there is much work still to be done, according to the Mayor. While the city has increased prosperity, the city has initiated a “5,000 Doors” campaign due to the increasing disparity with people regarding income and housing.

Jackie Biskupski

Jackie Biskupski – Jackie Biskupski’s representative was on hand as she was at a scheduled campaign event. “She will listen” was the prevailing theme of her platform. Biskupski was a legislator for 13 years and enjoyed a close working relationship with the city during her tenure on many issues. She understands the West Side issues, including resources for things like infrastructure, street lights, clean river, a safe community, protected bike lanes, safe crosswalks, and economic development.

George Chapman

George Chapman – According to Chapman, issues have been ignored with regards to transportation, homelessness, safety and many other city issues. Chapman’s platform is based on the need for more police, more transit service, protection of open space and better air quality.

City Council Chair Luke Garrott

Luke Garrott – Currently a Salt Lake City Council Chair, Garrott’s campaign is focusing on public transit, clean energy production and affordable housing options in all neighborhoods. All neighborhoods should have better resources and be engaged in “participating budgeting” to have a voice in what is funded in their areas.

Dave Robinson

Dave Robinson – Robinson is a first time candidate for office in the political system. An owner of multiple businesses, he has a strong interest in building and development. Robinson’s platform will focus on better public transportation, homelessness, the rights of property owners, issues that affect the housing market and affordable housing.

Q & A (Ms. Biskupski was not represented in the formal Q&A due to her prior commitment)

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Pioneer Park Coalition: Trouble Brewing

The Salt Lake Tribune has published an article on the Pioneer Park Coalition’s troubles with members withdrawing. The Road Home and Crossroads Urban Center have officially withdrawn their membership.

The Road Home shelter is officially out of the Pioneer Park Coalition — the second homeless-service provider to leave — after top coalition leaders’ presentation earlier this month seeking funding from the state Legislature for a housing project on west North Temple.

Matt Minkevitch, executive director of The Road Home, said his organization left the coalition because it cannot sign on to such initiatives without the approval of its board of directors. He added, however, that The Road Home will continue to work with the coalition.

The leaders of the Coalition, according to the article, gave a presentation to the Legislature on the request for state funds to build housing based on the consent of all Coalition members.

In their Feb. 11 presentation to the Legislature, coalition executives Scott Howell, Bryson Garbett, Josh Romney and Jonathan Harmon listed 85 group members — including The Road Home — as supporting the request for $1 million in state funds to build housing units on Salt Lake City’s west side.

“We wanted to make sure we were not implying consent for various programs without the consent of our board,” Minkevitch said. “But we consider ourselves a friend of the coalition.”

Last week, the executive director of the Crossroads Urban Center, Glenn Bailey, resigned from the coalition because, he said, it listed his organization as one of the supporters of the housing proposal on the west side. Bailey said he hadn’t seen the plan and would never have supported the proposed sites. He complained the coalition was operating in a top-down fashion that left most members out of decision making and suggested it had an unspoken agenda of moving homeless services out of the Rio Grande area.

Read the article here.