Democracy In Albany

http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2007/10/29/story5.html?b=1193630400^1540293&page=1

After reading this article I posted a diary which broke down the cost per unit/building:

http://www.democracyinalbany.com/story/2007/10/29/163554/10

What really disturbs me is what's reported in the article which was excerpted by DIA in his posting:

"The $12.5 million project was paid for with funds from the city's Community Development Agency, low-income tax credits from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and tax credits from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation."

So let's see what DHCR has to say about Low Income Tax Credits:

"The Low-Income Housing Credit Program (LIHC) (LIHC) was established under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to promote private sector involvement in the retention and production of rental housing that is reserved for low-income households.

The LIHC program provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income tax liability for project owners who develop rental housing that serves low-income households with incomes up to 60% of area median income. The amount of LIHC available to project owners is directly related to the number of low-income housing units that they provide."

"The LIHC is available to the project owners only for units that are occupied by low-income households. A low-income household is defined as one having an income of 60 percent or less of the area median adjusted for household size.

From the Oct.'07 Business Review article:

"For instance, a family of four must earn less than $39,720 to live there. Rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom units will range from $500 to $800."

From the Thursday TU article:

"The developer owns the buildings and will manage the apartments, which will be for moderate-income tenants earning 60 percent of the city's median income. A family of four would have to have an income of about $39,000, said Kristina Rogers, the senior project manager for WinnDevelopment."

Let's see, according to one source, the median household income in Albany is estimated to be approximately $33,000, which sounds about right considering it was $30,000 in 1999.

"The income per capita is $20,464, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $33,594."

http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Albany-New_York.aspx

So, what's 60% of $33,594? It's $20,156, Right?

As I see it, the developer of this project, Winn, will be receiving oodles in low income tax credits for providing housing to an ineligible population target, moderate incomed families, while pricing out low incomed families and individuals, the population the tax credit program was designed to assist.

As I said before, Park South is a rehab ripoff.