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Tampa Housing Authority, Bank To Meet On Court's Tax Ruling
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Published: September 19, 2007
TAMPA - Tampa Housing Authority officials are unsure whether the long-planned Central Park Village redevelopment is in jeopardy, but they do not appear to be panicking.
Housing leaders said during their monthly board meeting today that they will meet with Bank of America officials starting Thursday to try to understand the possible implications of a recent state Supreme Court ruling. The ruling threatens to block the use of tax-increment financing to fund Community Redevelopment Area projects, such as Central Park Village, without a public vote.
"This action could have significant impact on what is ultimately developed on this site, as well as the timing of the redevelopment," Roxanne Amoroso, senior vice president of Bank of America's Community Development Corp., said in a letter to the housing agency.
Bank of America is partnering with the authority to redevelop the 28-acre former housing property. The new neighborhood, called Encore, will be a mixed-use, mixed-income community that offers affordable and federal Section 8 subsidized housing and market-rate condominiums. The first new apartments are expected to open in late 2008.
Leroy Moore, the authority's senior vice president and chief operating officer, said demolition is still on track to meet a November deadline. So far, 26 of 54 buildings have been razed.
He told the housing board that city of Tampa officials also will participate this week in meetings.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( mamkmm2 ) on September 19, 2007 at 3:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Finally, someone is telling the local spazocrats that you can't raise taxes to pay for pet projects.
You earmark funds that come in and THEN you spend them. Save first ... then spend.
No wonder the average citizen thinks living paycheck to paycheck is OK and that running up their credit balance is a way of life. Why not?! Our government apparently does it all the time.
Time to cinch your belt folks. If your citizens have to, so does the beauracracy.
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Posted by ( KristineMarshall ) on September 19, 2007 at 7:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
This Florida Supreme Court ruling has absolutely nothing to do with your property taxes going up or down.
Tax Increment Financing is one of the state's powerful tools to make improvements to the most distressed areas of our state WITHOUT raising your taxes one penny.
Educate yourself about this funding source and the effects this ruling is going to have on the quality of life of our citizens.
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Posted by ( mamkmm2 ) on September 19, 2007 at 8:06 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
New subsidized housing projects is not going to fix the problems. There are already enough empty housing units out there to more than absorb the population that had to relocate when they tore the old one down.
Why waste the tax payers' money? Try paying market rents and and holding subsidized tenants responsible for damages to properties (even if due to their kids or guests) and you'll have landlords lining up to accept such tenants.
As of now, Section 8 and other subsidized agencies are so bogged down with incompetence that landlords are giving all their Section 8 tenants the boot rather than renew.
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