Apartment Choice

LEWISTON — The city is seeking a large federal grant that would address housing and other issues in the poorest areas of downtown Lewiston , and neighborhood advocates say the funds could go a long way toward implementing goals they've had for years.  If successful in its bid, Lewiston could receive $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and what's known as a  Choice Neighborhood Planning and Action Grant. The city council approved the application last week, and will commit $237,500 in local Community Development Block Grant funds during implementation if the grant is successful.  The city hopes the funding can lead to long-term changes in the downtown neighborhood , where nearly half of residents live below the federal poverty level . According to 2015 census figures, the median family incomes in downtown census tracts 201 and 203, are $12,417 and $16,047, respectively.  The main purpose of the funds is to plan and execute major housing...

Shares 355 By Amy Wenk and Maria Saporta As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 4, 2017 An Atlanta developer is planning an innovative co-working space along one of Atlanta’s most historic streets — a project that’s already lured high- profile investors including top Home Depot executives . Historic preservation developer Gene Kansas in front of the 135 Auburn Ave. building, which he and a group of investors have acquired to turn into a “Constellations” project on the second floor (Photo by Maria Saporta) Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate plans to open Constellations, a $2 million project that will offer “culturally-inspired” workspace with the hope of bringing together great minds who care about making a difference in the city. It’s coming to the second floor of the circa-1910 former Southern School Book Depository at 135 Auburn Ave., a building that was designed by famed Atlanta architect Neel Reid . Constellations will replace the Southern Education Foundati...

Leonnel Davis sees change in Rochester and wonders what it means for her new neighbors. "I see growth in the community but not growth around where I live," she said. Up until about three months ago, Davis was living in a home in northeast Rochester, which she was hoping to buy through a contract for deed. However a pending divorce changed her plans, and she moved with her two grandchildren, one 12 and the other 15, to a three-bedroom apartment in the Andover Apartments complex in southeast Rochester. It wasn't the first choice for the 53-year-old grandmother, but searches for three-bedroom apartment kept coming with price tags as high as $1,900 a month in buildings near the city's core. "Who are they building that for? They couldn't be building it for me," she said, noting she pays $900 for rent in her new apartment as she points to needed repairs and cites safety concerns . "I'm on disability, and I'm a single grandparent....

Thursday, Aug. 16: 6 p.m. Students, parents and community members are being invited to attend a celebration and kicking off the 2017- 18 school year at Cesar Chavez Community School , 255 W. Beamer St. Dinner will be served during the event, which also recognizes the accreditation of Cesar Chavez. Friday, Aug. 18: 8:30 a.m. The Yolo Food Bank will distribute food to eligible residents at the Yolo Library, 37750 Sacramento St, Yolo. Participants may receive food at only one site. Eligible participants are asked to bring a bag to carry their food home. For more information call the Food Bank at 668-0690. Friday, Aug. 18: 9:30 a.m. The Yolo Food Bank will distribute food to eligible residents at the Happy Time RV Park , 5160 County Road 99W , Dunnigan. Participants may receive food at only one site. Eligible participants are asked to bring a bag to carry their food home. For more information call the Food Bank at 668-0690. Friday, Aug. 18: 10 a.m. NAMI-Yolo, the local chapter of the N...

TODAY GOVERNMENT MEETINGS • Marion County Board of County Commissioners : 9 a.m., commission chambers, McPherson Governmental Complex , 601 SE 25th Ave ., Ocala. Ocala City Council Workshop : 11:30 a.m., City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave ., Ocala. Update on Tuscawilla Cultural Arts Plan , local results of Arts and Economic Prosperity Study and information about Community Cultural Arts Plan . Call 368-5517. •  Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board : 9 a.m., 2379 Broad St., Brooksville. Visit watermatters.org. • Marion Soil and Water Conservation District : 12:30 p.m., USDA Ocala Service Center , 2441 NE Third St., Suite 204-2, Ocala. Call 622-3971 ext. 112 or email susan.valle@fl.nacdnet.net. • Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization: 4 p.m., commission chambers, McPherson Governmental Complex , 601 SE 25th Ave ., Ocala. Call 629-8297 or visit marioncountyfl.org. • City of Belleview Code Enforcement : 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 5343 SE Abshier Blvd .,...

Along the busy Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Dunwoody is a sprawling collection of two- story apartment buildings . The units are worn but relatively kept up. Dozens of children play soccer or run in the parking lots. And numerous vans with ladders atop their roofs indicate a working class clientele . The buildings and their occupants might be largely unremarkable, but the Dunwoody Glen and Lacota apartment complexes and their 2,000-plus mostly Hispanic residents are now the focus of a controversy that has divided this newly incorporated suburban enclave and led to a federal lawsuit . In 2011, Dunwoody officials pushed a bond referendum that would raise money to demolish two aging apartment complexes and build a sprawling — and badly needed — park. Then- Mayor Ken Wright extolled the effort in a press release just before the vote but added that while the city “regrets the need to displace residents (in) 785 apartment units” it would work to relocate those citizens, including...

When it comes to getting new apartments built, San Diego is the 11th worst city in the nation, said a national study released Monday . Fifty cities were ranked on specific factors, including local regulations and land available for development, that were determined to be critical to construction by trade groups such as the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association . Honolulu was ranked the most difficult market for building new apartments, and New Orleans was the easiest. Research gathered by Florida-based think tank Hoyt Advisory Services for the trade groups looked at the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulation Index, a survey of regulatory laws, and a method of mapping developable land created by Sumner La Croix of the University of Hawaii. It also used the U.S. Census and other data and market research. In California, San Francisco was deemed the hardest to get new supply built at No. 8. Los Angeles was No. 12, Riverside No. 13, Sacramento ...

By Beth Jacobi The recommendations of the Bend 2030 housing workgroup , recently offered to Bend City Council , may not ease the housing burden of many of the people who live and work in Bend. The recommendations are designed to increase housing for those making $40,000 to $90,000 a year. But according to the Oregon Housing Alliance , the current mean renter wage in Deschutes County is $11.86 an hour (about $24,000 a year). Many tourism industry workers , teachers, police officers, health care workers , social service workers , and families with children are suffering from our housing crisis. Bend leads the nation for rent increases. Bend’s average home sales price is over $400,000, and homelessness has gone up 31 percent since 2015 (Point in Time Count, 2017). The Bend 2030 housing workgroup has some great ideas, but the recommendations don’t ensure the development of affordable housing . City leaders must reserve valuable subsidies and incentives, ( property tax waiver , system ...

Buy Photo The Ann Arbor City Apartments in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is seeing a building boom of apartments and condos for the last couple of years that continues to ramp up. (Photo: Romain Blanquart/ Detroit Free Press ) Buy Photo An unprecedented building boom of apartment high -rises and condos has made construction cranes a lingering fixture of the Ann Arbor skyline . No fewer than six cranes hovered over downtown last week as private developers raced to erect more luxury student and post-collegiate housing within walking distance to University of Michigan classrooms. The half- dozen residential projects that are under construction or slated to begin are the latest round in a boom that has been under way for at least three years and is permanently altering the city's housing situation. Many of the current and earlier developments specifically cater to U-M students, offering additional near- campus living options aside from blocks of grubby old houses. Other projects have ta...