Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Housing upgrade sought
By Sara Siekierski
Daily News staff writer
Public housing in the City of Beloit may get a big makeover in the next few years if a redevelopment strategy goes ahead as planned.
On Monday night, the City Council and members of the public had the opportunity to hear the redevelopment strategy for the city's aging public housing done by Tom Landgraf of Dimension Development LLC in Fitchburg, Wis. Before anything can be done, the strategy would have to be approved by the Community Development Authority and the Beloit City Council.
The city's 131 public housing units are in need of physical and energy updates, Landgraf said Monday night. The city has a mixture of smaller one- and two-bedroom units as well as larger five- and six-bedroom units. The problem, Landgraf said, is that there are more families wanting smaller units rather than larger.
“There's a shift in demographics from larger families to smaller families,” Landgraf said, adding that this trend can be seen in the numbers provided by Beloit's Housing Authority. This trend is likely to continue, Landgraf noted.
Renting public housing has not been a problem in Beloit, as the city has the highest occupation rate out of all of Landgraf's clients. With the new strategy, smaller bedroom units would be rehabilitated while some larger units would be replaced with smaller units or transferred to home ownership.
One of the major components to the redevelopment strategy is housing efficiency. Because residents in public housing are required to pay the costs of their utilities, the utilities often become a major deterrent in getting people in the units, Landgraf said. Often a utility company may deny utilities to a family because their credit history with the company is bad or the family simply can't afford the cost of utilities. With more energy efficient housing, utility costs could be reduced for residents, which would allow them to keep a good credit with the utility company, Landgraf said.
If the redevelopment strategy continues to move along and is approved, the homes would likely be rehabilitated by 2012, Beloit City Manager Larry Arft said. Temporary housing may be set up for families to live in while their homes are being renovated.
Since it's unlikely that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will have the needed funds, Federal Affordable Housing Tax Credits would be the best bet for getting the necessary money, Landgraf said. The idea is to buy the credits and then sell them to an investor, but with the current state of the economy, selling the credits might be a bit harder than in years past, Landgraf said.
Before July, the state had $11.5 million in tax credit availability. In July, an additional $1.5 million was added, and in October, an additional $38 million was added for disaster assistance. The October allocation is only for three years, Landgraf said.
The rest of the redevelopment project would likely be paid for with the HUD Capital Fund Financing Program, the Federal Home Loan Bank, home sale proceeds and city gap funding.
Because there will only be so much money available, the project would only entail redeveloping the 131 units instead of increasing the public housing inventory, Landgraf said. The goal is to provide long-term stability to public housing and not have a waiting list any longer than it takes to clean up a home and move a new family in.City eyes plan to redevelop public properties
Public housing in the City of Beloit may get a big makeover in the next few years if a redevelopment strategy goes ahead as planned.
On Monday night, the City Council and members of the public had the opportunity to hear the redevelopment strategy for the city's aging public housing done by Tom Landgraf of Dimension Development LLC in Fitchburg, Wis. Before anything can be done, the strategy would have to be approved by the Community Development Authority and the Beloit City Council.
The city's 131 public housing units are in need of physical and energy updates, Landgraf said Monday night. The city has a mixture of smaller one- and two-bedroom units as well as larger five- and six-bedroom units. The problem, Landgraf said, is that there are more families wanting smaller units rather than larger.
“There's a shift in demographics from larger families to smaller families,” Landgraf said, adding that this trend can be seen in the numbers provided by Beloit's Housing Authority. This trend is likely to continue, Landgraf noted.
Renting public housing has not been a problem in Beloit, as the city has the highest occupation rate out of all of Landgraf's clients. With the new strategy, smaller bedroom units would be rehabilitated while some larger units would be replaced with smaller units or transferred to home ownership.
One of the major components to the redevelopment strategy is housing efficiency. Because residents in public housing are required to pay the costs of their utilities, the utilities often become a major deterrent in getting people in the units, Landgraf said. Often a utility company may deny utilities to a family because their credit history with the company is bad or the family simply can't afford the cost of utilities. With more energy efficient housing, utility costs could be reduced for residents, which would allow them to keep a good credit with the utility company, Landgraf said.
If the redevelopment strategy continues to move along and is approved, the homes would likely be rehabilitated by 2012, Beloit City Manager Larry Arft said. Temporary housing may be set up for families to live in while their homes are being renovated.
Since it's unlikely that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will have the needed funds, Federal Affordable Housing Tax Credits would be the best bet for getting the necessary money, Landgraf said. The idea is to buy the credits and then sell them to an investor, but with the current state of the economy, selling the credits might be a bit harder than in years past, Landgraf said.
Before July, the state had $11.5 million in tax credit availability. In July, an additional $1.5 million was added, and in October, an additional $38 million was added for disaster assistance. The October allocation is only for three years, Landgraf said.
The rest of the redevelopment project would likely be paid for with the HUD Capital Fund Financing Program, the Federal Home Loan Bank, home sale proceeds and city gap funding.
Because there will only be so much money available, the project would only entail redeveloping the 131 units instead of increasing the public housing inventory, Landgraf said. The goal is to provide long-term stability to public housing and not have a waiting list any longer than it takes to clean up a home and move a new family in.
Improvements
Possible changes to existing public housing
New low-maintenance exteriors
New roofs, windows and exterior doors
Garages where possible
Landscaping, site grading
Interior upgrades to codes
New HVAC and appliances
New low-maintenance flooring
Possible floor plan modifications
Evaluate all cost-effective “green” features
On Monday night, the City Council and members of the public had the opportunity to hear the redevelopment strategy for the city's aging public housing done by Tom Landgraf of Dimension Development LLC in Fitchburg, Wis. Before anything can be done, the strategy would have to be approved by the Community Development Authority and the Beloit City Council.
The city's 131 public housing units are in need of physical and energy updates, Landgraf said Monday night. The city has a mixture of smaller one- and two-bedroom units as well as larger five- and six-bedroom units. The problem, Landgraf said, is that there are more families wanting smaller units rather than larger.
“There's a shift in demographics from larger families to smaller families,” Landgraf said, adding that this trend can be seen in the numbers provided by Beloit's Housing Authority. This trend is likely to continue, Landgraf noted.
Renting public housing has not been a problem in Beloit, as the city has the highest occupation rate out of all of Landgraf's clients. With the new strategy, smaller bedroom units would be rehabilitated while some larger units would be replaced with smaller units or transferred to home ownership.
One of the major components to the redevelopment strategy is housing efficiency. Because residents in public housing are required to pay the costs of their utilities, the utilities often become a major deterrent in getting people in the units, Landgraf said. Often a utility company may deny utilities to a family because their credit history with the company is bad or the family simply can't afford the cost of utilities. With more energy efficient housing, utility costs could be reduced for residents, which would allow them to keep a good credit with the utility company, Landgraf said.
If the redevelopment strategy continues to move along and is approved, the homes would likely be rehabilitated by 2012, Beloit City Manager Larry Arft said. Temporary housing may be set up for families to live in while their homes are being renovated.
Since it's unlikely that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will have the needed funds, Federal Affordable Housing Tax Credits would be the best bet for getting the necessary money, Landgraf said. The idea is to buy the credits and then sell them to an investor, but with the current state of the economy, selling the credits might be a bit harder than in years past, Landgraf said.
Before July, the state had $11.5 million in tax credit availability. In July, an additional $1.5 million was added, and in October, an additional $38 million was added for disaster assistance. The October allocation is only for three years, Landgraf said.
The rest of the redevelopment project would likely be paid for with the HUD Capital Fund Financing Program, the Federal Home Loan Bank, home sale proceeds and city gap funding.
Because there will only be so much money available, the project would only entail redeveloping the 131 units instead of increasing the public housing inventory, Landgraf said. The goal is to provide long-term stability to public housing and not have a waiting list any longer than it takes to clean up a home and move a new family in.City eyes plan to redevelop public properties
Public housing in the City of Beloit may get a big makeover in the next few years if a redevelopment strategy goes ahead as planned.
On Monday night, the City Council and members of the public had the opportunity to hear the redevelopment strategy for the city's aging public housing done by Tom Landgraf of Dimension Development LLC in Fitchburg, Wis. Before anything can be done, the strategy would have to be approved by the Community Development Authority and the Beloit City Council.
The city's 131 public housing units are in need of physical and energy updates, Landgraf said Monday night. The city has a mixture of smaller one- and two-bedroom units as well as larger five- and six-bedroom units. The problem, Landgraf said, is that there are more families wanting smaller units rather than larger.
“There's a shift in demographics from larger families to smaller families,” Landgraf said, adding that this trend can be seen in the numbers provided by Beloit's Housing Authority. This trend is likely to continue, Landgraf noted.
Renting public housing has not been a problem in Beloit, as the city has the highest occupation rate out of all of Landgraf's clients. With the new strategy, smaller bedroom units would be rehabilitated while some larger units would be replaced with smaller units or transferred to home ownership.
One of the major components to the redevelopment strategy is housing efficiency. Because residents in public housing are required to pay the costs of their utilities, the utilities often become a major deterrent in getting people in the units, Landgraf said. Often a utility company may deny utilities to a family because their credit history with the company is bad or the family simply can't afford the cost of utilities. With more energy efficient housing, utility costs could be reduced for residents, which would allow them to keep a good credit with the utility company, Landgraf said.
If the redevelopment strategy continues to move along and is approved, the homes would likely be rehabilitated by 2012, Beloit City Manager Larry Arft said. Temporary housing may be set up for families to live in while their homes are being renovated.
Since it's unlikely that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will have the needed funds, Federal Affordable Housing Tax Credits would be the best bet for getting the necessary money, Landgraf said. The idea is to buy the credits and then sell them to an investor, but with the current state of the economy, selling the credits might be a bit harder than in years past, Landgraf said.
Before July, the state had $11.5 million in tax credit availability. In July, an additional $1.5 million was added, and in October, an additional $38 million was added for disaster assistance. The October allocation is only for three years, Landgraf said.
The rest of the redevelopment project would likely be paid for with the HUD Capital Fund Financing Program, the Federal Home Loan Bank, home sale proceeds and city gap funding.
Because there will only be so much money available, the project would only entail redeveloping the 131 units instead of increasing the public housing inventory, Landgraf said. The goal is to provide long-term stability to public housing and not have a waiting list any longer than it takes to clean up a home and move a new family in.
Improvements
Possible changes to existing public housing
 |
 |
|
| Remembering loved ones lost | Official says no to raise |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of beloitdailynews.com.
Submit a Comment
Login below to post your comment. |
Not yet a member? Use the form below to register. |
