The 234 Apartment

CHEYENNE ­– A proposed apartment complex that would offer low- and middle- income housing in north Cheyenne won a key stamp of approval Monday night when the City Council voted to rezone land for high-density development. Councilman Dicky Shanor was absent for the 9-0 decision. Developer Summit Housing Group plans to build a three-building, 72-unit complex for low- and middle- income residents east of Converse Avenue between Storey and Dell Range boulevards . Sam Lang, a Summit senior project manager , said his firm is aiming to break ground on the project by early next year pending city approval of building plans . Despite indications that the council would support the move, nearby homeowners who oppose the project again came out to protest the developer’s plans and city processes . Krystal Lewis, who lives on Plainview Road just east of where the apartments would sit, said the complex was stretching the city’s zoning rules and development code. The complex didn’t call for e...

Renovations are complete on 113 units at the sprawling Billings Forge complex , where tenants returned to find fresh paint , new appliances and soaring windows. The monthslong effort to upgrade the apartments, hallways and lobby in the former mill building on Broad Street concluded this year. Residents who had relocated temporarily were able to move back home last winter. Some who occupied older units moved into new ones. New kitchens, bathrooms, doors and windows were installed in the apartments, and modern appliances were added. New flooring was laid in the hallways, and the lobby received a face-lift. The $19. 8 million project , backed by a mix of state funds, federal and state tax credits , low income historic tax credits and aid from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority , took about 19 months to finish. The mixed- income complex is 95 percent full, officials said, and is in the process of accepting new tenants. One hundred and two of its units are deemed “affordable hou...

Apartment hunters may soon have another option when shopping for an affordable place to rent in Round Rock. The Round Rock City Council passed a resolution of non-objection last week allowing Pedcor , the developer of the Shadow Ridge Apartments , to move forward with efforts to receive state tax incentives to help develop the complex. Shadow Ridge Apartments " width="460" height="418" />Applicants must make 60 percent of the area’s median income, which is approximately $78,000, according to city of Round Rock Planning Director Brad Wiseman , in order to qualify for one of the 256 units planned for the development.  It will be located on the northwest corner of A.W. Grimes and Old Settlers Boulevard and will be one of only a handful of income- restricted apartment complexes in the city. “There is a huge need in this entire region and all across Texas,” said Craig Lintner, senior vice president of Pedcor, to the council during the meeting. Wiseman said th...

Less than a week into Cheyenne’s 151st year, the City Council has another chance Monday night to shape its future. What do we want to be? An open, welcoming community that embraces all people, regardless of socioeconomic status, and invites them to live wherever they choose? Or a city that forces people below a certain income level to live primarily in a certain part of town? The right choice should be obvious: Avoid any hint of discrimination and grant final approval to the rezoning application for a proposed low- and middle- income apartment complex in north Cheyenne. In doing so, our elected leaders would reject the specious arguments of a group of residents who live near a planned 72- unit complex east of Converse Avenue and south of Storey Boulevard. These homeowners maintain that allowing the apartments in this location would decrease their property values and somehow keep their neighborhood from “flourishing.” We understand the basic urge to protect what’s rightfully yours –...

$4 Million Project Includes 40 Senior Living Apartments The Heritage Place senior living apartment complex took another step closer to becoming a reality as the building permit was issued on Monday, Aug. 15. The complex will be constructed next to Orscheln’s, beside and behind the Dos Primos restaurant location . It will feature affordable housing for senior citizens who are 55 and older. The project was proposed more than a year ago to the Board of Aldermen by Woodco, Inc., out of Billings, Mo. The company secured federal and state tax incentives to take on the project which has made the process take longer. The project will be developed by DowCon, LLC, out of Kansas City. Doff Woodman, of Woodco, addressed the board about the development and noted it will be a top-notch facility. In addition to the apartment units there will also be a community building constructed with space for an exercise room, common areas, kitchen and porches for residents to gather. Those interested in b...

NASHVILLE – Officially known as the Low- Income Housing Tax Credit Program administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency , an initiative that could have brought up to three housing developments to Sevier County resulted in none of the three proposals being selected for awards of tax credits. Had any of the three proposals been approved, the development would have represented the first time since 2012 that a multifamily housing development in Sevier County received state allocations in the form of tax credits from the agency. Proposals for tax credits were made in February by private developers across Tennessee for either the construction of new units or the rehabilitation of existing units. On Tuesday, THDA released the results of its ranking system for projects proposed across the state. Michael Blade, THDA's director and assistant legal counsel for multifamily development , verified that none of the three projects proposed for Sevier County made the cut. "N...

A Kentucky development group is planning a 180- unit affordable apartment complex in north Baton Rouge on the corner of Airline Highway and Plank Road. LDG Development , which specializes in affordable housing , is still in the planning stages for the project, which is named Commodore Pointe . The Baton Rouge North Economic Development District announced the project at its meeting last night. A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment, but LDG is not new to Baton Rouge. The firm previously developed the $ 24 million Mallard Crossing apartment complex on Greenwell Springs Road in 2012, as well as the Woodcrest Apartments, an $ 8 million development completed in 2013 on North Lobdell Boulevard . The developer is also set to cut the ribbon on the Port Royal Apartments , another affordable housing complex on Airline Highway, on May 10. In March, LDG announced a 204-unit project on Nicholson Drive and Gardere Lane. Commodore Pointe will feature two four- story residential build...

David Engberg wheels through the third apartment he’s had in two years. PHOTO BY KARLOS RENE AYALA David Engberg and James Clark cling to their independence by a thread. Both men were born with cerebral palsy and live off Supplemental Security Income , or SSI—a stipend that puts them under the federal poverty line . So far, they’ve managed to keep a roof over their heads by splitting the cost of rent. But since the affordable housing crisis hit , the roommates have been priced out of two apartments in just two years. The stressful shuffling was witnessed by Jennifer Schmidt, their case manager at InAlliance, a nonprofit that provides employment and living services for people with disabilities. Advocates such as Schmidt are becoming increasingly alarmed by the way skyrocketing rents are affecting Sacramento County ’s 14, 000 disabled residents . Several independent surveys suggest Sacramento is experiencing some of the largest rent increases in the nation. Few feel those tectonic ma...

click to enlarge Wake County Housing Authority - THOMAS GOLDSMITH" /> Thomas Goldsmith Burnetta Smith, CEO of Wake County Housing Authority Residents of Forest Hills Apartments in Garner appeared March 20 with little fanfare to tell Wake County commissioners their story: they’d received short notice that they’d have to pay much higher rents and/or move out of the place that had long been home to many of them. By Wednesday night, ten days later, dozens of Forest Hills residents , led by community activist Octavia Rainey , drew a notable crowd to a meeting in a Garner church on the issue. And action at the federal and local level was underway to help residents who had been dismayed by their imminent removal. “To have done us this way was inhumane to us,” sixteen- year Forest Hills resident Janice Williams said during the meeting. Those who showed up included an aide to U.S. Representative David Price , six of the seven Wake County commission...

NEW ORLEANS - People living along a certain stretch of Chef Menteur Highway have had to deal with a lot of issues, from substandard living conditions , to deadly shootings in their complex.  But now about a hundred families are facing a new notice that could put many of them out on the street. "You could see they have doors busted wide open ," said resident Charlene Walker . Residents living at 6000 Chef Menteur say they know their apartment complex makes headlines for shootings and crime, but they say it should be known for its maintenance issues.   "We don't have anybody back here doing nothing for us," said Charlene Walker as she showed Eyewitness News her apartment. Walker pointed to mold that had spread in her unit.  And it was just back in April when WWL captured how living conditions were as residents struggled to get repairs.  Trash was everywhere, and in one unit, a ceiling collapsed. MORE: Tenants call for help as apartment complex crumbles aroun...

When Bill de Blasio became mayor of New York City in 2014, he made no secret of his intent to place affordable housing at the center of his term. Not long after his election, he rolled out his Housing New York plan–a 10-year strategy to build or preserve around 200,000 affordable units across the city’s five boroughs. advertisement Affordable, when it comes to housing in New York, is a slippery term. Critics of de Blasio’s plan have pointed out that the majority of the units built or converted under Housing New York remain out of reach of low-income New Yorkers–those earning less than $43,000 per year. And while the plan has succeeded making a nearly 100,000 unit dent in the city’s 550,000 affordable-unit shortfall, the terms of the new unit’s affordability are ephemeral: The majority of the units created and preserved under the mayor’s plan are only regulated temporarily, often for as little as two decades. There is no guarantee that a unit designated as affordable today will remain...

ROCKY TOP (WATE) – If you have ever lived in an area without street lights or some type of illumination, you know how dangerous it can be at night. At an apartment complex in Rocky Top, formerly known as Lake City, street lights have been out since December. Built more than 30 years ago, Creekwood Apartments are privately managed by a company out Knoxville. The government subsidized multi -family apartments are for  low income, elderly and disabled. In some rural areas of East Tennessee, street lights are a luxury, but when the government subsidies apartments or single family homes , there are rules managers must follow. One rule is, the apartments are supposed to be safe, which means they’re supposed to have outdoor lights that work. When we visited the complex ten days ago , everyone had one simple request. We talked with 20 people from Creekwood Apartment in Rocky Top. They’re fed up with their lights being on the blink. “What do I want,” said Grace Ellis, “Well we all want the li...

A wealthy Orange County investor has acquired Brookstone Apartment Homes in Buena Park for $38 million. Patrick Cadigan , the former chief executive of Electronic Engineering Co. of California, bought the 184-unit community at 7400 Artesia Blvd. from L&B Realty Advisors , a Dallas- based investment firm with real estate holdings across the country. Built in 1977, Brookstone consists of 112 one-bedroom and 72 two-bedroom units across 17 two-story buildings. The property features a pool and spa, a fitness center and covered parking. Carl Greenwood , general partner of real estate investment firm Greenwood & McKenzie, said Cadigan liked the quality of the recently renovated complex . “There’s a shortage of supply of good apartment complexes for sale,” he said. Cadigan, who made headlines last year when he pledged to donate $27 million to a pair of schools in Boston, is one of the county’s largest real estate investors . He owns nearly 1, 800 apartment units across 11 comple...