LETTER TO THE EDITOR: PEARY COURT / VOTE NO – THE CHOICE IS OBVIOUS
by Christine Russel…….
PEARY COURT: VOTE NO – THE CHOICE IS OBVIOUS
SO THE CITY WANTS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT “AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING?”
CHOICE A: VOTE YES: BUY PEARY COURT: 157 UNITS
FACT: Peary Court’s 157 2-bedroom / 1 bathroom units will cost $350,000 each.
157 units that will rent for $2400 a month – affordable for workers who earn the highest salaries.
Result:
Empty the Land Authority account of 10 Million.
Risky 30-year mortgage FOR the remaining balance on $55 MILLION purchase price.
If all goes according to cost estimates make $750,000 in profit per year toward new housing.
CHOICE B: VOTE NO: BUILD NEW ON GOVERNMENT OWNED LAND
FACT: Ocean Walk will soon build 41 3B/R/ 2BTH Units and 39 1BR/1BTH at an estimated cost of $83,750/unit [Ocean Walk’s estimate]
FACT: There is $12.2 Million in the Land Authority account for affordable housing; growing at a rate of appox. 2 Million per year.
145 Units could be built with the 12.2 Million in the Land Authority account.
Result:
These units could be truly affordable for the typical Key West worker.
No debt, just PROFIT.
At the low-income cap of $1396 for a 1-bedroom that’s $2,429,040 a year in gross revenue. [A married couple can earn up to $74,467 and qualify for low-income affordable housing. [At median-income it’s $1748/month for one-bedroom and a married couple can earn up to $93,200 and still qualify]
The City could build more truly affordable housing as the profit from these 145 units and the land authority money piles up…
Private developers WILL NOT build low-income and median-income housing on government land – they don’t feel there is enough profit in it. Developer Ed Swift has publicly stated so multiple times.
Well that was easy and simple.
Numbers never lie, if you just do the math!
I am supporting affordable housing and voting for Option B
NO on Peary Court.
Thanks again Blue Paper for pointing out the choices and math in all this!
No Way!
Two conflicting , perhaps intentionally misleading “pro forma” proposals , a PAC that doesn’t have the facts also misleading the voters, negotiations , secret even from other commissioners, Mayor and city manager not informing the commission years before the sale was announced, hence the lie about confidentiality, the immense undeserved profit to present owners with their underlying threat of upscaled development – shepherded through by a disbarred attorney, that no bank would touch this deal, that there are cheaper ways to accomplish the goal, that the housing will not pay for itself and require more taxpayer bailouts , and looking out for my friends who would never be able to live there , and that poison pill where the owners are keeping parts of the property, whereabouts unknown, and the likely outcome that these speculators and their minions have nothing but profit on their minds at our expense, so to sell their remaining development rights to someone – probably anyone , and the tourist industry which pays so little that the taxpayers are asked to subsidize their employees , the loss of significant property taxes , the idiocy of the whole complex and risky details?? Want me to continue? NO WAY .
Proponents of the purchase like to point to the Key West Bight and predict a similar outcome. BALDERDASH!
The reason Key West Bight worked is because the property is worth several times more today than it was at the time of purchase, which justifies higher rents. Nobody expects similar appreciation at Peary Court in the coming years.
The other big difference is that the Bight is supported by Tax Increment Funding (TIF) which essentially allows “stealing” the property taxes that would normally go to the county, the school board and other taxing authorities (including the Key West general fund) and puts them into the budget at the KW Bight.
Neither condition exists at Peary Court.it’s comparing apples to oranges. If the city could go back in time and invest $55 million, they should instead be looking at the initial offerings of Microsoft or Apple. Then they would have billions today. Alas, they can’t do that either.
That reminds me. There were affordable liveaboard rentals and mobile homes at Key West Bight when it was run by private owners. After it was purchased by the City we had to fight for liveaboards to remain, for the dinghy dock to remain and the battle for the mobile homes was lost. And the liveaboard rentals that, what few are left that have not been converted to transient slips, can in no way be called “affordable.”
Does it even matter if it passes when no bank is interested without the city being on the hook if it fails. What happens if the city buys it and rents 25% at 1400 and another 25% at 2000 ? That will not be enough to pay the mortgage. And guess who gets to maintain this mess, yep the tax payers.
This whole dam thing is mess before it starts. Your not helping any of the low income workers. All it is going to do is help the few that can afford $2400 to stay.
Now the big question is if the city says NO then what will the owners do with it? Tear it down and redevelop and create some more 1 million homes. Key West better wake up before all the rich buying second homes have nobody to staff city jobs and stores. Then what will they be worth ?
Get smart and build small units on city owned land and then a bank will be happy to lend.