Pat
2007-05-14 02:41:04 UTC
I thought Mr. Cool and George would enjoy arguing over this for a
while.
=====================
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/05/13/news/local_news/news01.txt
City trying to lure tenants
By Jessica Soule
Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:15 PM EDT
One couple who owns a downtown business thinks of their second floor
apartment as a New York City-ish loft.
Located in the heart of the city, Kim and Jay Pearson's home is within
walking distance of a theater, a variety of restaurants and bars, a
grocery store and their shop.
City planners would love the Pearsons to have more neighbors. They
have long identified the importance of creating a residential
community in downtown as part of a revitalization effort.
"Bringing people (downtown) is the most important element," said
Michael Long, director of capital projects and grants.
Auburn City Council agreed to hire a consultant to see what
regulations the city can change to encourage the vital movement of
people into downtown 24 hours a day.
The first step to make this happen is reforming codes to make
purchasing and renovating an older building more appealing to
developers and buyers.
"The downtowns are the lifeline of a region. It's where people work
and entertain themselves and it's essential to continue to make
downtowns even more vibrant," said Daniel Young, New York State Urban
Council program manager.
The Urban Council is a statewide non-profit organization that
encourages revitalization of downtowns and central business districts
across the state.
The masses moving out of the downtown was a national phenomenon in the
beginning of the 1900s, Long said. This left Auburn with property
owners underutilizing their abundance of second- and third-stories
rooms traditionally used to house family and the owners.
A housing study, adopted by council in January, stated city leaders
should encourage growth for residential use in the downtown area.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Kim and Jay Pearson live above their store, Nash's Art Supply, on the
State Street Mall, making their commute only seconds.
"Several interviews indicated that the second and third floors of
retail space in downtown would provide an excellent location for new
housing. However, several interviewees indicated that building codes
were a financial constraint," according to the study.
Experts agree one of the faster ways to encourage growth and
revitalization is to bring people into the heart of the city.
Young pointed to a new trend that shows younger people, mostly young
professionals, gravitating to becoming downtown dwellers. But
according to the study, there aren't enough affordable spaces to meet
this demand in Auburn.
In real estate listings from the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement
District, only six out of 50 mentioned properties had the possibility
of residential space.
More than 3,000 people work downtown in the 290 businesses there,
according to the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District.
Developers, private or non-profit organization, play a major role in
rebuilding the area, Long said.
But what usually happens first? Does a city improve the area to lure
builders to come in, or do developers find inexpensive treasures and
cause a ripple effect that improves the city?
"It's the chicken and the egg situation," Long said.
At the same time, Young says both phenomena usually overlap. Young,
based in Syracuse, knows all too well the need for downtown
residential spaces is there.
He sees a creative environment that raises interest for spaces in
central downtown building districts. Therefore, encouraging an
artistic and cultural center with shops, theaters and museums, can
help draw people to an area.
Part of the process is converting buildings into inviting spaces for
retail and residential purposes, Young said, but this takes public or
municipal authorities cooperating with private developers and
corporations. On the other hand, government agencies set the policies
and offer tax incentives.
"More people make for a better community. You have to have an
incentive for people to invest in their buildings. It's not
necessarily asking for money," Jay Pearson said.
However, developers have the tools to assist them in implementing
concepts and designs, Young said.
One such tool is a market tax credit. This allows lower cost debt
financing and tax credits.
A new state tax credit will take up the historic tax credit to a
certain percent of the project's expenses up to a set amount. This
encourages owner-occupied living spaces as well as commercial
structures.
"It's tough to invest in a building in hopes of getting something out
of it. No one gets rich, you hope you make enough to get your invest
back," Kim Pearson said.
The Urban Council is trying to increase the credits opportunity and
get rid of the cap to help owners like the Pearsons, Young said. The
state and federal government also offer tax incentives, credits and
low-interest financing.
Lattimore Hall, a dormitory for students on Genesee Street, is an
example of a non-profit developer taking advantage of programs to
build residential units. It can house up to 97 students and a
residence assistant among the 20 apartments in its brick facade.
But overall, people living downtown permanently, not only strolling
through and working there, is key to a healthy central business
district, Long said.
Along with an enlarged, 24-hour community in downtown would come an
increase in services. Many central district businesses shut down after
workers go home during the week and on weekends.
"There's no place to get a cup of coffee on Saturday," Kim Pearson
said.
Another benefit of growing a neighborhood with people who stay past
the usually 9 to 5 shift means there's the improved safety of having
someone almost always nearby, Long said. The thought is to keep people
in downtown and make it more of a community. This can chase away crime
and shady under dealings.
The city already made huge progress in sweeping out brash drug deals
and unsafe conditions when it eradicated a pedestrian walkway and
recreated State Street, Kim Pearson said.
While the streetscape design created a better traffic flow to the
streets' stores, it also allowed better policing methods and
maintenance. Now, people can walk around, she added.
Perhaps one way to invite people is to find structures suitable for
conversion to living spaces and make them economically appealing for
people to buy and refurbish them.
"I think we need to identify historic buildings, and working to
convert those buildings into adaptive reused spaces is essential,"
Young said. Another factor to the equation would be saving older
buildings from demolition or becoming eyesores, Jay Pearson added.
But one obstacle to this is the current bylaws and restrictions that
can stop an idea by impeding costs or barring design concepts
outright.
The city's 1991 comprehensive plan outlined land use goals as
reviewing code and enforcement to "make it clean that Auburn is
committed to a standard of excellence in property and development
conditions" and to create positive incentives to improve property
maintenance and upgrade neighborhoods.
The Pearsons say they love the space their second-floor apartment of
35 years affords them.
"It's very cosmopolitan, I guess you would say," Jay Pearson said.
"It's like a New York City loft; large rooms, high ceilings ..."
The location provides them with a full-service grocery store, Auburn
Public Theater, and restaurants all within walking distance.
They wanted to convert the third floor into a residential unit as
well, but the codes would have forced them to install an elevator to
reach the top apartment.
"Well, that was cost prohibited and we thought it was pretty
ridiculous," Jay Pearson said.
The government needs to make buying and refurbishing central buildings
more economically feasible, Jay Pearson said. This would bring more
people to the area and cause a thriving business district. Another
added bonus is that residents with staked interest in their structures
will want to maintain and improve their investment.
However, owners often are hesitant to make improvements to their
structures to avoid property tax assessment hikes.
Another issue that gives owners pause is turning their spaces into low-
income housing. The low income housing tax credit program is one such
plan that pushes affordable housing in downtown areas, which often
contain a variety of services and are centrally located.
"At the time, they had programs to make it low-income, so we were
totally against that. We thought they should have made it the
opposite, more upscale housing so the buildings would be worth more,"
Jay Pearson said.
A resolution floated in front of the Auburn City Council last month
allowing the planning office to send out requests for qualifications
for a consultant to review and suggest changes to the city's current
codes in order to make affordable housing opportunities.
Any reforms would have to remain within the guidelines and
requirements of the state. The resolution was in response to the
housing market Novogradac and Company prepared for the city that
suggested reviewing regulations related to the building, housing, fire
and zoning codes.
"The city of Auburn intends to encourage renovations by improving the
permitting and enforcement processes," the request for qualifications
states. The city planning department wants a system that is easy to
understand and affordable.
Cynthia Aikman, economic development program manager, stressed the
need for amendments to the current codes.
The city can't apply amendments and changes in the state codes because
it doesn't coincide with the city regulations. A firm or consultant
can find the nuances in the language and fix any overlap, she said.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Economic
Development Initiative grant will fund the service. Council will bid
out the project with a request for qualifications. This process means
the city does not have to accept the bid on cost alone, or in other
words, lowest bidder doesn't necessarily get the job.
As people's lives, needs and communities changed bit by bit, codes and
regulations changed little by little to accommodate the new
situations. This means the municipality needs to examine the whole
picture and make it one cohesive course of action.
"We want smart codes that work with us," Aikman said.
BID President Tony Piccolo points to downtown dwellers as an important
factor in increasing activity and creating a stronger core downtown.
The Cayuga County Tourism office commissioned a study that expressed
the need for downtown housing especially the Baby Boom Generation.
Mostly older people who don't want to care for lawns and maintain
homes, but want to be in the thick of the city and its services.
With the Schine Theater and the Auburn Public Theater, there's been an
amazing burst of activity, Piccolo said.
"All they really need to do is relax the codes to make it easy on
people wanting to refurbish their buildings," he said. "The demand is
there."
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext 267 or
***@lee.net
Get all the news delivered to your doorstep everyday. Subscribe now!
printable version e-mail this story
The Citizens' Say
homeless wrote on May 13, 2007 9:27 PM:
" they need a shelter stop asking for free stuff and start doing what
needs to be done there is way to many empty buildings in auburn now "
how can downtown compete wrote on May 13, 2007 8:28 PM:
" with apartment complexes that have parking spots right in front of
their doors? it is far from looking for a handout. atlanta is a whole
different ball game. "
R W A wrote on May 13, 2007 7:13 PM:
" Walking distance to where There is nothing in Auburn. "
Leonardo wrote on May 13, 2007 6:41 PM:
" This is Auburn. "
Outta there wrote on May 13, 2007 2:55 PM:
" Who the hell wants to live in Auburn? Let alone downtown? If it is
urban they wany, no one is going to find it there! "
MikeinMD wrote on May 13, 2007 1:25 PM:
" I know this brings up the old bug-a-boo about urban renewal but
Auburn did have many people living downtown. My aunt and uncle lived
in a great apt. where the Metcalf Bldg. is now. (Built in the mid
60's) also the Lincoln Apts where Wegmans is now, among others. Could
those places been fixed up over the years? Now we want something that
was given up years ago. You don't know what you want till its gone so
says Joni Mitchell. "
atlopinon wrote on May 13, 2007 11:26 AM:
" typical auburnian looking for free. I live in Atlanta in a condo
where our building parking garage is over 300 dollars a year. And it
is OUR parking garage on OUR property. maybe if auburn decided to quit
being a city looking for handouts something positive might get done. "
wlaker wrote on May 13, 2007 9:25 AM:
" It is within walking distance...but do they walk anywhere? "
Great Story wrote on May 13, 2007 8:44 AM:
" another caveat: property owners have buildings but they can't offer
free parking to tenants. "
Send Us Your Say
Name:
Comments:
Auburnpub.com encourages readers to offer opinions on our local
stories. We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve
the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of
conduct. For this reason, comments are first reviewed and may not be
posted immediately, especially during overnight hours. No comment may
contain:
* Potentially libelous statements.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, or threats.
* Commercial products or promotions
The opinions above are from readers of auburnpub.com and in no way
represent the views of The Citizen or Lee Enterprises
while.
=====================
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/05/13/news/local_news/news01.txt
City trying to lure tenants
By Jessica Soule
Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:15 PM EDT
One couple who owns a downtown business thinks of their second floor
apartment as a New York City-ish loft.
Located in the heart of the city, Kim and Jay Pearson's home is within
walking distance of a theater, a variety of restaurants and bars, a
grocery store and their shop.
City planners would love the Pearsons to have more neighbors. They
have long identified the importance of creating a residential
community in downtown as part of a revitalization effort.
"Bringing people (downtown) is the most important element," said
Michael Long, director of capital projects and grants.
Auburn City Council agreed to hire a consultant to see what
regulations the city can change to encourage the vital movement of
people into downtown 24 hours a day.
The first step to make this happen is reforming codes to make
purchasing and renovating an older building more appealing to
developers and buyers.
"The downtowns are the lifeline of a region. It's where people work
and entertain themselves and it's essential to continue to make
downtowns even more vibrant," said Daniel Young, New York State Urban
Council program manager.
The Urban Council is a statewide non-profit organization that
encourages revitalization of downtowns and central business districts
across the state.
The masses moving out of the downtown was a national phenomenon in the
beginning of the 1900s, Long said. This left Auburn with property
owners underutilizing their abundance of second- and third-stories
rooms traditionally used to house family and the owners.
A housing study, adopted by council in January, stated city leaders
should encourage growth for residential use in the downtown area.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Kim and Jay Pearson live above their store, Nash's Art Supply, on the
State Street Mall, making their commute only seconds.
"Several interviews indicated that the second and third floors of
retail space in downtown would provide an excellent location for new
housing. However, several interviewees indicated that building codes
were a financial constraint," according to the study.
Experts agree one of the faster ways to encourage growth and
revitalization is to bring people into the heart of the city.
Young pointed to a new trend that shows younger people, mostly young
professionals, gravitating to becoming downtown dwellers. But
according to the study, there aren't enough affordable spaces to meet
this demand in Auburn.
In real estate listings from the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement
District, only six out of 50 mentioned properties had the possibility
of residential space.
More than 3,000 people work downtown in the 290 businesses there,
according to the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District.
Developers, private or non-profit organization, play a major role in
rebuilding the area, Long said.
But what usually happens first? Does a city improve the area to lure
builders to come in, or do developers find inexpensive treasures and
cause a ripple effect that improves the city?
"It's the chicken and the egg situation," Long said.
At the same time, Young says both phenomena usually overlap. Young,
based in Syracuse, knows all too well the need for downtown
residential spaces is there.
He sees a creative environment that raises interest for spaces in
central downtown building districts. Therefore, encouraging an
artistic and cultural center with shops, theaters and museums, can
help draw people to an area.
Part of the process is converting buildings into inviting spaces for
retail and residential purposes, Young said, but this takes public or
municipal authorities cooperating with private developers and
corporations. On the other hand, government agencies set the policies
and offer tax incentives.
"More people make for a better community. You have to have an
incentive for people to invest in their buildings. It's not
necessarily asking for money," Jay Pearson said.
However, developers have the tools to assist them in implementing
concepts and designs, Young said.
One such tool is a market tax credit. This allows lower cost debt
financing and tax credits.
A new state tax credit will take up the historic tax credit to a
certain percent of the project's expenses up to a set amount. This
encourages owner-occupied living spaces as well as commercial
structures.
"It's tough to invest in a building in hopes of getting something out
of it. No one gets rich, you hope you make enough to get your invest
back," Kim Pearson said.
The Urban Council is trying to increase the credits opportunity and
get rid of the cap to help owners like the Pearsons, Young said. The
state and federal government also offer tax incentives, credits and
low-interest financing.
Lattimore Hall, a dormitory for students on Genesee Street, is an
example of a non-profit developer taking advantage of programs to
build residential units. It can house up to 97 students and a
residence assistant among the 20 apartments in its brick facade.
But overall, people living downtown permanently, not only strolling
through and working there, is key to a healthy central business
district, Long said.
Along with an enlarged, 24-hour community in downtown would come an
increase in services. Many central district businesses shut down after
workers go home during the week and on weekends.
"There's no place to get a cup of coffee on Saturday," Kim Pearson
said.
Another benefit of growing a neighborhood with people who stay past
the usually 9 to 5 shift means there's the improved safety of having
someone almost always nearby, Long said. The thought is to keep people
in downtown and make it more of a community. This can chase away crime
and shady under dealings.
The city already made huge progress in sweeping out brash drug deals
and unsafe conditions when it eradicated a pedestrian walkway and
recreated State Street, Kim Pearson said.
While the streetscape design created a better traffic flow to the
streets' stores, it also allowed better policing methods and
maintenance. Now, people can walk around, she added.
Perhaps one way to invite people is to find structures suitable for
conversion to living spaces and make them economically appealing for
people to buy and refurbish them.
"I think we need to identify historic buildings, and working to
convert those buildings into adaptive reused spaces is essential,"
Young said. Another factor to the equation would be saving older
buildings from demolition or becoming eyesores, Jay Pearson added.
But one obstacle to this is the current bylaws and restrictions that
can stop an idea by impeding costs or barring design concepts
outright.
The city's 1991 comprehensive plan outlined land use goals as
reviewing code and enforcement to "make it clean that Auburn is
committed to a standard of excellence in property and development
conditions" and to create positive incentives to improve property
maintenance and upgrade neighborhoods.
The Pearsons say they love the space their second-floor apartment of
35 years affords them.
"It's very cosmopolitan, I guess you would say," Jay Pearson said.
"It's like a New York City loft; large rooms, high ceilings ..."
The location provides them with a full-service grocery store, Auburn
Public Theater, and restaurants all within walking distance.
They wanted to convert the third floor into a residential unit as
well, but the codes would have forced them to install an elevator to
reach the top apartment.
"Well, that was cost prohibited and we thought it was pretty
ridiculous," Jay Pearson said.
The government needs to make buying and refurbishing central buildings
more economically feasible, Jay Pearson said. This would bring more
people to the area and cause a thriving business district. Another
added bonus is that residents with staked interest in their structures
will want to maintain and improve their investment.
However, owners often are hesitant to make improvements to their
structures to avoid property tax assessment hikes.
Another issue that gives owners pause is turning their spaces into low-
income housing. The low income housing tax credit program is one such
plan that pushes affordable housing in downtown areas, which often
contain a variety of services and are centrally located.
"At the time, they had programs to make it low-income, so we were
totally against that. We thought they should have made it the
opposite, more upscale housing so the buildings would be worth more,"
Jay Pearson said.
A resolution floated in front of the Auburn City Council last month
allowing the planning office to send out requests for qualifications
for a consultant to review and suggest changes to the city's current
codes in order to make affordable housing opportunities.
Any reforms would have to remain within the guidelines and
requirements of the state. The resolution was in response to the
housing market Novogradac and Company prepared for the city that
suggested reviewing regulations related to the building, housing, fire
and zoning codes.
"The city of Auburn intends to encourage renovations by improving the
permitting and enforcement processes," the request for qualifications
states. The city planning department wants a system that is easy to
understand and affordable.
Cynthia Aikman, economic development program manager, stressed the
need for amendments to the current codes.
The city can't apply amendments and changes in the state codes because
it doesn't coincide with the city regulations. A firm or consultant
can find the nuances in the language and fix any overlap, she said.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Economic
Development Initiative grant will fund the service. Council will bid
out the project with a request for qualifications. This process means
the city does not have to accept the bid on cost alone, or in other
words, lowest bidder doesn't necessarily get the job.
As people's lives, needs and communities changed bit by bit, codes and
regulations changed little by little to accommodate the new
situations. This means the municipality needs to examine the whole
picture and make it one cohesive course of action.
"We want smart codes that work with us," Aikman said.
BID President Tony Piccolo points to downtown dwellers as an important
factor in increasing activity and creating a stronger core downtown.
The Cayuga County Tourism office commissioned a study that expressed
the need for downtown housing especially the Baby Boom Generation.
Mostly older people who don't want to care for lawns and maintain
homes, but want to be in the thick of the city and its services.
With the Schine Theater and the Auburn Public Theater, there's been an
amazing burst of activity, Piccolo said.
"All they really need to do is relax the codes to make it easy on
people wanting to refurbish their buildings," he said. "The demand is
there."
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext 267 or
***@lee.net
Get all the news delivered to your doorstep everyday. Subscribe now!
printable version e-mail this story
The Citizens' Say
homeless wrote on May 13, 2007 9:27 PM:
" they need a shelter stop asking for free stuff and start doing what
needs to be done there is way to many empty buildings in auburn now "
how can downtown compete wrote on May 13, 2007 8:28 PM:
" with apartment complexes that have parking spots right in front of
their doors? it is far from looking for a handout. atlanta is a whole
different ball game. "
R W A wrote on May 13, 2007 7:13 PM:
" Walking distance to where There is nothing in Auburn. "
Leonardo wrote on May 13, 2007 6:41 PM:
" This is Auburn. "
Outta there wrote on May 13, 2007 2:55 PM:
" Who the hell wants to live in Auburn? Let alone downtown? If it is
urban they wany, no one is going to find it there! "
MikeinMD wrote on May 13, 2007 1:25 PM:
" I know this brings up the old bug-a-boo about urban renewal but
Auburn did have many people living downtown. My aunt and uncle lived
in a great apt. where the Metcalf Bldg. is now. (Built in the mid
60's) also the Lincoln Apts where Wegmans is now, among others. Could
those places been fixed up over the years? Now we want something that
was given up years ago. You don't know what you want till its gone so
says Joni Mitchell. "
atlopinon wrote on May 13, 2007 11:26 AM:
" typical auburnian looking for free. I live in Atlanta in a condo
where our building parking garage is over 300 dollars a year. And it
is OUR parking garage on OUR property. maybe if auburn decided to quit
being a city looking for handouts something positive might get done. "
wlaker wrote on May 13, 2007 9:25 AM:
" It is within walking distance...but do they walk anywhere? "
Great Story wrote on May 13, 2007 8:44 AM:
" another caveat: property owners have buildings but they can't offer
free parking to tenants. "
Send Us Your Say
Name:
Comments:
Auburnpub.com encourages readers to offer opinions on our local
stories. We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve
the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of
conduct. For this reason, comments are first reviewed and may not be
posted immediately, especially during overnight hours. No comment may
contain:
* Potentially libelous statements.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, or threats.
* Commercial products or promotions
The opinions above are from readers of auburnpub.com and in no way
represent the views of The Citizen or Lee Enterprises
