City Newspaper Archives - 5/2007
DOWNTOWN: Tax breaks for downtown housing?
Published by Tim Louis Macaluso on May 11, 2007
A bill to spur housing development and attract homebuyers downtown through tax relief is expected to be approved at the City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
New construction or renovation of an existing building would be eligible for the exemption, and it would apply to the increased value of the property once work is completed.
Some members of City Council have questioned the value of the program, since the owner-occupied housing downtown is high-end.
At a meeting of Council's Jobs, Economic Development, and Center City Committee yesterday, Councilmember Dana Miller had this question: "Wouldn't we just be giving a tax credit to owners who can afford to buy these properties anyway?"
"I'm not sure we would be increasing owner-occupancy," said Miller, "if we are just rewarding the same people who would buy here anyway."
But Economic Development Commissioner Carlos Carballada said some downtown buildings are "low producers" in tax revenue. The program is focused on downtown because the buildings already exist and creating housing in them would be less expensive than developing vacant land.
"We think the customer is there," said Carballada. "We place the potential for owner-occupancy at 44 percent of the available market."
