The election is behind her and Mayor Sheila Dixon is looking ahead to perhaps her most looming task: appointing a top cop for Baltimore.
"I'm going to make a decision very soon because we need to have the police department focused and not worried about who's going to be the commissioner," Dixon said.
A biotechnology park next to Johns Hopkins is already in the works and now the mayor wants to focus on developing the east side of the city around it, with businesses, housing and a new charter school. In all, it's a project that requires some creative financing, borrowing $85 million.
"So that whole area is going to be stimulated by helping families in the community one, be able to have opportunities for jobs and training, two, quality housing, and then three, a great K-8 school that's going to focus on medical and bio to prepare our kids to get in that arena," she said.
City council members have priorities of their own. Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, fresh off her election victory, is targeting heroin addiction, hoping to push for more doctors in the city to prescribe the treatment drug buprenorphine.
"Heroin addiction is a terrible problem in the city and if we make inroads in heroin addiction, we would slow the engine that is our criminal justice system down," Rawlings-Blake said.
Among the dozens of other bills high on the administration's priority list: regulating valet parking services in the city and reserving some city parking spaces for car-sharing vehicles.
The mayor has a deadline. These bills must be acted on by the first week in December, when the new councilmembers take office. If not, those bills will have to be introduced all over again.(CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Biotech park upsets residents. East Baltimore plan brings worry about affordable homes
A plan to build a sprawling $800 million biotechnology park adjacent to Johns Hopkins Hospital has some East Baltimore residents worried that they will not be able to afford to buy new homes in the area despite the roughly $150,000 they will receive for homes that will be demolished to make way for offices, shops and residences.
East Baltimore Development Inc., a nonprofit organization created by the city to manage the project, has promised to come up with money from an equity fund and specially tailored mortgage loans to help residents buy new houses, which are expected to have a starting price of $250,000.
But some homeowners say the price of the new houses will be so steep that they will not be able to purchase homes in the upscale neighborhood without going into debt.
"We want to make sure that we can get a house for a house," said Donald Gresham, a 20-year homeowner and chairman of the Save Middle East Action Committee. "No one wants to take on any more debt."
The disgruntled property owners are rallying behind a "House for a House" slogan and will meet today at the EBDI offices, 1809 Ashland Ave., to discuss alternate plans with development officials.
Gresham and other residents wrote a memorandum to East Baltimore Development Inc. officials this month in which they clearly stated their opposition to the equity/mortgage plan.
"[This plan] can lead to a plantation where people are not the true masters of their own homes," the July 3 memo said. "And frankly, if asked, our recommendation [to residents and others] would be: 'Look into it. But you will want to be very, very careful about it.' Let the buyer beware."
The equity fund has been "seeded" with $6 million in city and private funds, but it is unclear who would manage it. When residents sell their homes, the fund would receive the value of the original loan plus a percentage of the increase in the property's value. EBDI officials say the fund is a cutting-edge financial tool that could be used to help future families become homeowners in the neighborhood.
They argue that old housing investment models, including publicly subsidized construction and tax incentives to developers to build low-income housing, will not work as effectively.
"This is something that is critically important to ensure that what is delivered here works not just for a few years but for the course of decades as well," said Jack Shannon, president and chief executive officer of EBDI.
"We don't want to undercut a developing real estate market," Shannon said.
EBDI officials say they are responding to residents' concerns. They are talking with developers about building lower-priced homes sooner, as well as building more of them. Shannon said that he and his staff are also looking into ways to renovate existing rowhouses within the revitalization area, which could provide houses in a price range that would be affordable to residents, some of whom make less than $12,000 a year.
Shannon said some of the existing homeowners could move into senior apartments or to houses in other parts of the city. As part of the project, some residents are receiving additional training and education so that they can get jobs at the new biotech park and perhaps increase their household income.
Residents who are leasing houses or apartments also are receiving education on the benefits of homeownership, as well as other financial advice.
"If we are going to deliver this project, we are going to have to take new approaches," Shannon said, referring to the sweeping project, which calls for the creation of thousands of jobs and the transformation of one of the most decayed and crime-ridden areas of the city.
The 88-acre biotech project is about to enter its second phase. In the initial phase, covering 30 acres north of the Johns Hopkins medical campus, 916 properties, 278 of which were occupied, were demolished and 396 families had to be relocated. Shannon said that a senior apartment complex is near completion and that 27 of the 74 units have been leased to East Baltimore residents. Residents, whether homeowners or renters, have dibs on housing in the revitalization area.
Shannon said that about the same number of properties will be demolished or renovated as part of phase two, which covers more than 50 acres. In the end, five life sciences buildings will be constructed, as well as a mix of housing, including "work force" apartment lofts for social workers, teachers and police officers. There will also be housing for biotech professionals that will be priced at market rate, with some units going for $300,000 or more.
"There is a lot of resistance to the equity fund owning a piece of people's houses," said Nathan Sooy, executive director of the Save Middle East Action Committee. "People don't like the idea. There is a visceral resistance to someone else owning part of the house."
Sooy said that many residents own their homes outright because deeds were passed down by parents or other relatives. Such residents are not willing to take on new debt to purchase new houses. Sooy said residents also don't like the mortgage deal proposed by EBDI. Under the plan, mortgage payments would be tied to a homeowner's monthly income and would represent 30 percent of the total sum.
"It seems like a lot of money to people," Sooy said. "And as we were discussing it with residents, we really couldn't find anyone who really wanted to do this."
Sooy and others say that EBDI is quietly trying to move low-income residents out to make way for future employees of Johns Hopkins, which will use about one-third of the office space in the new biotech park.
"Remember, the whole thing here is to serve the business interest of Johns Hopkins University," said Sooy. "And a lot of the vision has to do with having places for people who work in the biotech industry to live."
Shannon denied that plan calls for displacing area residents to make way for workers at the biotech park. A spokesman for the Johns Hopkins University declined to answer questions about the project.
"There is a level of mistrust and in some cases cynicism, in large part because there have been lots of past projects and promises and the results have not mirrored the commitments that were made," said Shannon, who acknowledged that EBDI had been slow in informing residents about more affordable housing options. He promised to be more communicative.
Shannon said residents and development officials had sparred before, but the two sides had struck a more cooperative chord recently. "We are past opposition to the entire plan," said Shannon, "but we are still trying to figure out the best way to move forward and that is not easy." (baltimoresun.com)
East Baltimore Development Inc., a nonprofit organization created by the city to manage the project, has promised to come up with money from an equity fund and specially tailored mortgage loans to help residents buy new houses, which are expected to have a starting price of $250,000.
But some homeowners say the price of the new houses will be so steep that they will not be able to purchase homes in the upscale neighborhood without going into debt.
"We want to make sure that we can get a house for a house," said Donald Gresham, a 20-year homeowner and chairman of the Save Middle East Action Committee. "No one wants to take on any more debt."
The disgruntled property owners are rallying behind a "House for a House" slogan and will meet today at the EBDI offices, 1809 Ashland Ave., to discuss alternate plans with development officials.
Gresham and other residents wrote a memorandum to East Baltimore Development Inc. officials this month in which they clearly stated their opposition to the equity/mortgage plan.
"[This plan] can lead to a plantation where people are not the true masters of their own homes," the July 3 memo said. "And frankly, if asked, our recommendation [to residents and others] would be: 'Look into it. But you will want to be very, very careful about it.' Let the buyer beware."
The equity fund has been "seeded" with $6 million in city and private funds, but it is unclear who would manage it. When residents sell their homes, the fund would receive the value of the original loan plus a percentage of the increase in the property's value. EBDI officials say the fund is a cutting-edge financial tool that could be used to help future families become homeowners in the neighborhood.
They argue that old housing investment models, including publicly subsidized construction and tax incentives to developers to build low-income housing, will not work as effectively.
"This is something that is critically important to ensure that what is delivered here works not just for a few years but for the course of decades as well," said Jack Shannon, president and chief executive officer of EBDI.
"We don't want to undercut a developing real estate market," Shannon said.
EBDI officials say they are responding to residents' concerns. They are talking with developers about building lower-priced homes sooner, as well as building more of them. Shannon said that he and his staff are also looking into ways to renovate existing rowhouses within the revitalization area, which could provide houses in a price range that would be affordable to residents, some of whom make less than $12,000 a year.
Shannon said some of the existing homeowners could move into senior apartments or to houses in other parts of the city. As part of the project, some residents are receiving additional training and education so that they can get jobs at the new biotech park and perhaps increase their household income.
Residents who are leasing houses or apartments also are receiving education on the benefits of homeownership, as well as other financial advice.
"If we are going to deliver this project, we are going to have to take new approaches," Shannon said, referring to the sweeping project, which calls for the creation of thousands of jobs and the transformation of one of the most decayed and crime-ridden areas of the city.
The 88-acre biotech project is about to enter its second phase. In the initial phase, covering 30 acres north of the Johns Hopkins medical campus, 916 properties, 278 of which were occupied, were demolished and 396 families had to be relocated. Shannon said that a senior apartment complex is near completion and that 27 of the 74 units have been leased to East Baltimore residents. Residents, whether homeowners or renters, have dibs on housing in the revitalization area.
Shannon said that about the same number of properties will be demolished or renovated as part of phase two, which covers more than 50 acres. In the end, five life sciences buildings will be constructed, as well as a mix of housing, including "work force" apartment lofts for social workers, teachers and police officers. There will also be housing for biotech professionals that will be priced at market rate, with some units going for $300,000 or more.
"There is a lot of resistance to the equity fund owning a piece of people's houses," said Nathan Sooy, executive director of the Save Middle East Action Committee. "People don't like the idea. There is a visceral resistance to someone else owning part of the house."
Sooy said that many residents own their homes outright because deeds were passed down by parents or other relatives. Such residents are not willing to take on new debt to purchase new houses. Sooy said residents also don't like the mortgage deal proposed by EBDI. Under the plan, mortgage payments would be tied to a homeowner's monthly income and would represent 30 percent of the total sum.
"It seems like a lot of money to people," Sooy said. "And as we were discussing it with residents, we really couldn't find anyone who really wanted to do this."
Sooy and others say that EBDI is quietly trying to move low-income residents out to make way for future employees of Johns Hopkins, which will use about one-third of the office space in the new biotech park.
"Remember, the whole thing here is to serve the business interest of Johns Hopkins University," said Sooy. "And a lot of the vision has to do with having places for people who work in the biotech industry to live."
Shannon denied that plan calls for displacing area residents to make way for workers at the biotech park. A spokesman for the Johns Hopkins University declined to answer questions about the project.
"There is a level of mistrust and in some cases cynicism, in large part because there have been lots of past projects and promises and the results have not mirrored the commitments that were made," said Shannon, who acknowledged that EBDI had been slow in informing residents about more affordable housing options. He promised to be more communicative.
Shannon said residents and development officials had sparred before, but the two sides had struck a more cooperative chord recently. "We are past opposition to the entire plan," said Shannon, "but we are still trying to figure out the best way to move forward and that is not easy." (baltimoresun.com)
Monday, July 23, 2007
Developer and four others sue Queen Anne's, claiming bias
Builder says board caused project delays, violated federal law
Six years ago, developer John C. Stamato acquired 144 acres in Grasonville with the idea of building houses, setting aside a portion for the middle class. Instead of erecting 218 homes that only a fraction of Marylanders could afford, he later proposed breaking off dozens of those units and listing them for less than $150,000 apiece.
Stamato said he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars playing by the county's development rules to build in a designated growth area.
But when the county's commissioners, under pressure to rein in growth, voted unanimously in May to indefinitely delay access to water and sewer service, he and several supporters had had enough.
Stamato has been joined in the lawsuit by two builders, including Maryland-based Enterprise Homes Inc., an arm of the Rouse-founded organization that supports affordable-housing interests across the United States. Two African-American residents who say they cannot afford to buy a home in Queen Anne's County have also signed on as plaintiffs: a United Methodist minister in Grasonville and a Denton resident who works in Annapolis.
They are seeking unspecified damages and to force the commissioners to reconsider their stance on the project, which abuts a much-disputed parcel that the state and county intend to buy for $5 million and preserve.
Midgett S. Parker Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said this case speaks to a "lack of political will to provide an adequate supply of affordable housing for the next generation."
Parker noted that while Queen Anne's County passed a 2003 law to require developers of large projects to set aside 10 percent of their units as "moderately priced," not one has been built there.
Among the allegations listed in the 22-page lawsuit, it said that Gene M. Ransom III, one of Queen Anne's County's commissioners, voiced "concern" that the affordable housing would be near his home.
Eric S. Wargotz, president of the board of commissioners, declined to comment last night because he had not seen the lawsuit. Fellow commissioners Courtney M. Billups, Paul L. Gunther, Carol R. Fordonsky and Ransom did not return calls for comment yesterday.
Anti-growth sentiment is high in Queen Anne's, where voters ousted three incumbents last year, and three others in 2002, over the issue. Since 1999, the county has granted no more than 440 permits a year for new homes on vacant lots. That number dropped to 163 in 2005 and 146 in 2006. Based on numbers from the first five months of 2007, the county is on pace to approve 103 permits for such housing.
Legal and housing experts in the state said they were unaware of similar legal action brought elsewhere against a municipality in Maryland and said the plaintiffs' argument is an unusual twist on how federal housing rules are enforced. Government officials typically rely on the rules to bring action against developers who illegally discriminate against prospective homeowners and renters, they said.
"I think it's a fairly novel idea, and it's about time," said Barbara Bezdek, a professor of law at the University of Maryland who has raised such a theory in class.
Housing experts accuse many local governments of dragging their feet on aggressive affordable-housing initiatives, and they expect more cases brought by developers and residents against local governments.
"The sides have flip-flopped," said Anirban Basu, head of the Sage Policy Group, an economic consulting firm in Baltimore. "There was a time that government induced developers to provide more affordably priced, or work force, housing. Today, it is the developer that's pushing on local government to allow for such housing. ... It's the market that's trying to address this public-policy issue, not the government."
According to a study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the median price for a home in Queen Anne's County has jumped from $166,900 in 2000 to $353,500 in 2005.
With the median housing price in the Baltimore region more than $310,000, housing advocates argue that the lack of affordable housing is slamming the door on homeownership - or forcing thousands to flee to distant exurbs and make unreasonably long commutes to reach their jobs and see their families.
"Buying a home in Maryland these days is very difficult," said Jonette Hahn, treasurer of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, an advocacy group. "Finding a home for under $200,000 is very hard to do. Most first-time homebuyers are being shut out."
Stamato has planned to build 168 single-family homes and townhouses on 116 acres, with 10 percent, or 17 units, set aside under county rules for moderately priced housing. He donated an additional 28 acres to Enterprise Homes Inc. to build 50 more affordably priced units.
Queen Anne's County designated the parcel as a growth area in 1998 and, until two years ago, it was slated for immediate water and sewer access. But the commissioners voted in 2005 to hold off service for 20 years. They shortened that delay in 2006 to between four and 10 years. They refused to further expedite consideration May 8 - though a $32 million sewage plant opened in Grasonville a week later, according to the complaint.
Just southeast of the parcel is a 270-acre tract that the state and county hope to use as recreational space; the land deal turned contentious because the $5 million purchase price is nearly $1 million more than the average of two appraisals.
Yesterday's lawsuit caught the attention of Carl O. Snowden, director of the Office of Civil Rights for the state attorney general. He said of the county's growth practices: "They aren't opposed to all development. They are opposed to a certain type of development."
The backlash against high-density housing has been severe, as communities contend that such housing stock will further crowd schools and roads and harm the environment. There's also a stigma associated to affordably priced, or work force, housing, advocates say, as established communities worry about how their quality of life and property values will be affected by new residences of less affluence.
"Local governments are controlled by the people who vote them into office," said Hahn. "I think it's a sad reality that property owners don't want to increase the number of low-income people into their communities. There's a fear about the change in demographics. ... We need homes for people at all economic levels."
Even for lawmakers who take a fair-minded approach to allowing affordable housing, Basu said, "it's more tempting for them to embrace anti-growth stances." (baltimoresun.com)
Six years ago, developer John C. Stamato acquired 144 acres in Grasonville with the idea of building houses, setting aside a portion for the middle class. Instead of erecting 218 homes that only a fraction of Marylanders could afford, he later proposed breaking off dozens of those units and listing them for less than $150,000 apiece.
Stamato said he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars playing by the county's development rules to build in a designated growth area.
But when the county's commissioners, under pressure to rein in growth, voted unanimously in May to indefinitely delay access to water and sewer service, he and several supporters had had enough.
Stamato has been joined in the lawsuit by two builders, including Maryland-based Enterprise Homes Inc., an arm of the Rouse-founded organization that supports affordable-housing interests across the United States. Two African-American residents who say they cannot afford to buy a home in Queen Anne's County have also signed on as plaintiffs: a United Methodist minister in Grasonville and a Denton resident who works in Annapolis.
They are seeking unspecified damages and to force the commissioners to reconsider their stance on the project, which abuts a much-disputed parcel that the state and county intend to buy for $5 million and preserve.
Midgett S. Parker Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said this case speaks to a "lack of political will to provide an adequate supply of affordable housing for the next generation."
Parker noted that while Queen Anne's County passed a 2003 law to require developers of large projects to set aside 10 percent of their units as "moderately priced," not one has been built there.
Among the allegations listed in the 22-page lawsuit, it said that Gene M. Ransom III, one of Queen Anne's County's commissioners, voiced "concern" that the affordable housing would be near his home.
Eric S. Wargotz, president of the board of commissioners, declined to comment last night because he had not seen the lawsuit. Fellow commissioners Courtney M. Billups, Paul L. Gunther, Carol R. Fordonsky and Ransom did not return calls for comment yesterday.
Anti-growth sentiment is high in Queen Anne's, where voters ousted three incumbents last year, and three others in 2002, over the issue. Since 1999, the county has granted no more than 440 permits a year for new homes on vacant lots. That number dropped to 163 in 2005 and 146 in 2006. Based on numbers from the first five months of 2007, the county is on pace to approve 103 permits for such housing.
Legal and housing experts in the state said they were unaware of similar legal action brought elsewhere against a municipality in Maryland and said the plaintiffs' argument is an unusual twist on how federal housing rules are enforced. Government officials typically rely on the rules to bring action against developers who illegally discriminate against prospective homeowners and renters, they said.
"I think it's a fairly novel idea, and it's about time," said Barbara Bezdek, a professor of law at the University of Maryland who has raised such a theory in class.
Housing experts accuse many local governments of dragging their feet on aggressive affordable-housing initiatives, and they expect more cases brought by developers and residents against local governments.
"The sides have flip-flopped," said Anirban Basu, head of the Sage Policy Group, an economic consulting firm in Baltimore. "There was a time that government induced developers to provide more affordably priced, or work force, housing. Today, it is the developer that's pushing on local government to allow for such housing. ... It's the market that's trying to address this public-policy issue, not the government."
According to a study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the median price for a home in Queen Anne's County has jumped from $166,900 in 2000 to $353,500 in 2005.
With the median housing price in the Baltimore region more than $310,000, housing advocates argue that the lack of affordable housing is slamming the door on homeownership - or forcing thousands to flee to distant exurbs and make unreasonably long commutes to reach their jobs and see their families.
"Buying a home in Maryland these days is very difficult," said Jonette Hahn, treasurer of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, an advocacy group. "Finding a home for under $200,000 is very hard to do. Most first-time homebuyers are being shut out."
Stamato has planned to build 168 single-family homes and townhouses on 116 acres, with 10 percent, or 17 units, set aside under county rules for moderately priced housing. He donated an additional 28 acres to Enterprise Homes Inc. to build 50 more affordably priced units.
Queen Anne's County designated the parcel as a growth area in 1998 and, until two years ago, it was slated for immediate water and sewer access. But the commissioners voted in 2005 to hold off service for 20 years. They shortened that delay in 2006 to between four and 10 years. They refused to further expedite consideration May 8 - though a $32 million sewage plant opened in Grasonville a week later, according to the complaint.
Just southeast of the parcel is a 270-acre tract that the state and county hope to use as recreational space; the land deal turned contentious because the $5 million purchase price is nearly $1 million more than the average of two appraisals.
Yesterday's lawsuit caught the attention of Carl O. Snowden, director of the Office of Civil Rights for the state attorney general. He said of the county's growth practices: "They aren't opposed to all development. They are opposed to a certain type of development."
The backlash against high-density housing has been severe, as communities contend that such housing stock will further crowd schools and roads and harm the environment. There's also a stigma associated to affordably priced, or work force, housing, advocates say, as established communities worry about how their quality of life and property values will be affected by new residences of less affluence.
"Local governments are controlled by the people who vote them into office," said Hahn. "I think it's a sad reality that property owners don't want to increase the number of low-income people into their communities. There's a fear about the change in demographics. ... We need homes for people at all economic levels."
Even for lawmakers who take a fair-minded approach to allowing affordable housing, Basu said, "it's more tempting for them to embrace anti-growth stances." (baltimoresun.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
