It's election time again and we all know how fun it is to watch those streets get paved. It looks like the mayor is getting more serious this time. It's finally going to happen (drumroll)... We're going to build the affordable housing at Longborough! You know, the place where we kicked out all of the low-income families because the Beach Company wasn't quite rich enough? The problem is the Mayor has a distorted view as to what constitutes "affordable." It appears in the Mayor's view, affordable is a house worth up to $150,000. Anyone who has any common sense about loans knows you should purchase a home no more than two and half times your gross income. Foreclosures are on the rise, interest rates are climbing and it's time we get back to that rule. Now, why would we want to put up to $1400.00 a month into a mortgage payment knowing good and well we can't sell it for a reasonable profit? Why not just rent? HELLO? Don't most people buy property as an investment?
Let's just keep the poor...poor, right, Joe?
According to the Post and Courier, we're looking at 900-1200 square ft. quads. So who is going to buy these homes? The article states "former Shoreview residents get first priority." Yet the "city officials" admit these same residents couldn't afford to buy them anyway. Can I say, HELLO, AGAIN???
Please tell me the residents can see through Joe this time!
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Apparently those who care don't have enough influence with those who run the city. None of them are serious about providing new housing for the TRULY poor!
Tell me, who in their right mind would buy a house, take on a $150,000 mortage at even $1,000 per month (assuming you could get that kind of pmt.) and then agree that you (or your heirs) couldn't sell it for what it would be worth until 99 years later? This isn't affordable housing, it's slave quarters. If the city was serious about wanting to encourage people to put down roots AND enjoy the fruits of their labors...deed restrictions for 20 years would make sense...but not 99 years. Regular market housing is available across the Ashley or in Berkeley County for the same price but without the shackles.
Doesn't Toya Green live at Shoreview?
Yes. And in an "affordable" home worth at least three quarters of a million with special loan considerations that her ties with city hall have made possible. Just the place for a play date with all of the other Buist kindergarten parents. Virtually a gated community without the gate.
When did it become the taxpayer's (Government) responsibility to provide "affordable" homes. Was this taxpayer land to begin with that is now being developed for private sale? If so, that is wrong, but where does the government handouts end? Just like the Bush vetoing the S-CHIP program because he said 82K in income was "too high", what is the income level for government housing that is "too high"? 150K too high, 100k too high? Must one live in Charleston? This isn't a Buist issue. This is an issue of should public land be developed and what is the limit to taxpayer help that should be provided. But I guess you don't want to blog about that.
Wow, Shades, you may be new to our city, so I'll cut you some slack. Shoreview was a privately owned complex that provided affordable rents to about 150 families. It was demolished in 2001. Some of its residents had lived there their entire lives. As reported in the Post and Courier last week, "it (was) part of a $6 million deal the city struck with The Beach Company in 2001...50,000 square feet of housing for the city..." Yet, we're a long way from 2001.
Do you remember the Ansonborough Homes that were demolished after Hugo supposedly because of polluted soil?
I love the city because of it's diversity...it's racial diversitiy and economic diversity. Yet we're losing that diversity. Some people are really concerned about gentrification. Am I safe to conclude you're not one of them? Back in 2002 $250,000 worth of federal money went unused because Section 8 housing wasn't available. The "handout" is there whether we agree with or not. No Section 8 housing forces families off the peninsula. You state, "Must one live in Charleston?" You're talking about generations of families, Shades.
This DOES come back to our schools, doesn't it? I think the irony is creepy.
Shoreview wasn't public land. It was developed by J.C.Long more than fifty years ago. J.C.Long WAS the Beach Company. His grandchildren run it now. Longborough is a private development that benefits from a variety of government breaks from zoning to financing.
Your facts are off on the S-CHIP limits. The $84,000 income limit was never part of the law and was only briefly considered for those who lived in a high cost area of New York state. Bush was misleading to imply that that was the income ceiling when it was really much lower.
There were two interesting articles in the Post and Courier on Sunday regarding similar issues. Did anyone read them? One was regarding what New York City is doing to try and create affordable housing for teachers, etc... The other article was locally addressing the problem of poverty and how to break the cycle.
Underdog, I've been down here a few years. Thanks for correcting me and the info on Shoreview.
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