Comments on: Needed: Editor for Sembler Program

By: son of awcomeonnow

son of awcomeonnow — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 19:42:19 +0000

“Workforce housing” generally contains references to certain percentages
of it’units being set aside for persons of “Low to moderate Income levels”.
Whenever percentages appear in housing construction proposals, it’s
generally HUDSPEAK for investors in said housing. They’ve cracked the
HUDSPEAK code enough to know that it translates to lucrative Low Income
Housing Tax Credit tax write offs around April.
“Low to Moderate Income Levels” is also HUDSPEAK, generally meaning the
same thing (96% of HUD multifamily construction or refinance is tied to tax breaks).
“Workforce Housing” is the new darling of the National Association of
County Officials. They’re for more HUD, fewer cuts in federal housing funds, and their communities at large be damned .
Last year, I cruised their website for a story about a “workforce housing
success story” in Montgomery County, MD. The cited project had 70%
elderly tenants, 30% Section 8 tenants, zero percent county workforce tenants.

By: Teashook

Teashook — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:24:46 +0000

“Workforce housing” is not Sembler’s creation, it is a term coined by city planners and the development industry in general. It had to be created, because when they say “affordable housing,” homeowners and business owners (people that vote) go bananas.

By: Trackboy1

Trackboy1 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:01:49 +0000

“It would be great to create 300 new home owners all of whom have an income of under $30,000 per household.”

That’s a joke, right??? Semblers “workforce housing” will most likely be two bedrom units just under $200 grand.

Don’t drink the Sembler Kool Aid.

By: DJ

DJ — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:30:38 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of the proposed development, but let’s be a little more accurate about the neighborhood. There are no 850 square foot houses and there haven’t been $400-$700 rentals in quite some time. I own a house in that area and at 1500 sq feet it is definitely one of the smaller houses in my neighborhood (compared to other original 50’s and 60’s houses, not compared to the mcmansions). As for rent in the area, about $450-500 per bedroom has been the going rate for a while.

By: Trackboy1

Trackboy1 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:19:32 +0000

Check out GoDeKalb.com, especially the comments section, for the best coverage of this. Sembler Jackass Jeff Fuqua had the gall to publicly state that this project will primarily draw from a three mile radius. A pure fabrication, and he is arrogant enough to think the public will buy it without calling him out on it. He’s proposing as much retail space as Phipps has, and Phipps says it draws from a 100-mile radius.

Sembler has Angelo Fuster as a consultant. The same Angelo Fuster who’s worked Vernon Jones political campaigns.

I’m not a NIMBY, but when officials make statements, they need to be true, like Fuqua in the AJC saying Sembler will spend $20 million on subsidizing workforce housing. Sembler wouldn’t subsidize a single penny for anything; that statement doesn’t hold water, unless Fuqua is getting some type of bond, HUD tax credit payback.

And connections like Fuster’s to Sembler and Vernon need to be made publicly up front.

Briarcliff and N. Druid Hills on a weekday afternoon rush hour is beyond brutal. Will probably be the worst in the entire metro area if Sembler, Fuqua, and Fuster bully DeKalb to get everything they want.