Developers Hold Community Meeting Regarding IUP Property
Perkins Eastman Associate Mark O’Matz explained the design goals that are hoped to be incorporated into the architecture of the "Kittanning Cottages" to a group of Kittanning Citizens during a community meeting last night. The Cottages are possibly going to be constructed in the lot that used to be the home of IUP Kittanning.
by Nathan Lasher
Citizens who live in the vicinity of the former IUP property in downtown Kittanning came in large numbers in order to attend a community meeting held last night at the First Church of God.
The main presenters for the meeting were the president of Trek Development Group William J. Gatti, Jr. and Perkins Eastman Associate Mark O’ Matz.
“We want to keep this as informal as possible,” started Gatti. “We’re going to hit some of the highlights, and you can feel free to shout out whatever comes to mind as it comes up.”
The group of citizens, consisting of approximately 40 people, did just that.
Although the drawings of the future property were fantastic and magnificent, some citizens felt that the plans were too good to be true. They were worried that the houses planned for the IUP property would be like the Valley View apartments in Manor Township, also built by the same developer.
One of the citizens in attendance said, “I went to the place up on the hill of Ford City. It’s not at all this dream. It has windows that appear to be very unfinished, no trim work, no porches, and none of the details. Trust me; I know these details are not inexpensive. I know that you made the point that this proposal is just an idea. The debate will come in when you deal with the contractors and put it all together and so on and so forth. This is the community’s concern.”
Gatti responded, “I hear what you are saying. There is always a disconnect between plan view and reality. Some of what you’re saying about Valley View is true. The units really aren’t small by apartment standards. They may look small, but compared to the senior housing market, they’re not. They are 700 square feet. We are going farther than Valley View. This will be better than that. We’re pushing the envelope. We’re pushing for the porches, the gables, the columns, and the elements that Mark is showing here as well. It will be as good as it can possibly be within this market, and I think better than any other alternatives out there.”
Another concern was the income ceiling for possible renters. The apartments are designed to be available for senior citizens who are in the lower to moderate income range.
“It’s the only way, that I know of, to build something this nice and finance it,” said Gatti. “It’s financed through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Affordable Housing Tax Credit. They target areas where there is a demand for affordable housing. We would make an application to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which is a state agency. It’s a competitive process. The applications are due February 26. They go in once a year. We apply for these credits and compete against other communities and other developers state-wide. If we’re awarded these credits, we sell tax credits to corporations. In this case, it would be S&T Bank. That would be the money used to construct the site. Those tax credits are what limit the income. We try to just look at this straight from a market perspective. How much would it cost to build apartments and rent them or sell them. We wouldn’t be able to build anything nearly this nice. I don’t think the market would call for it. That’s my belief as to why this property has been vacant for as long as it has been.”
After more residents stressed their desire for more middle class housing in the neighborhood rather than lower to moderate housing, Gatti went further to say, “I don’t disagree with you, but we don’t know any way to finance what you are talking about and meet the market. The construction costs to do something that we could charge a rent for that was not income restricted wouldn’t even come close to working financially. You would have to rent them for about $2,000 per month. It’s not even close. That is evidenced by the fact that there has been very little interest in the site for years. If you are asking what would be absolutely ideal for the community, trending upwards would probably be better. However, it bumps into the realities of the finances of what amount of rent would need to be paid and what it cost to build.”
When citizens voiced their opinions about the crowdedness of the design and their wishes for yard space between houses, Gatti went on to explain that they are planning on ditching their original 33-unit design for a newly constructed 24-unit design.
After successfully addressing issues dealing with emergency services, traffic, and handicap accessibility, Gatti went on to explain the application process and a possible time table for ground breaking. “I anticipate that we will prepare our application, which will go in at the end of February. There is a long, competitive process. They pick which sites they think are best planned, best designed, best financed, best experienced, and best serviced. Then, they will award, or not award, the tax credits this summer. It will probably take us four to six months after the award to finalize all the plans and go through the local approval process. So, probably at the earliest, late this year, late 2010 will be the ground breaking. If we’re not awarded credits, and there are a number of phases at Valley View that took two and three applications, that would be between us and the land owners as to whether they would want to try again and we would go from there. It would be pushed back a year if we weren’t awarded credits, which is a very real possibility. We are fighting to make something happen here, and it’s not a slam dunk by any stretch.”
By the end of the meeting, community members seemed to be satisfied with the answers that they received, as well as the project as a whole. One community member said, “When my mother was living, this would have been her dream because she would have been able to walk to wherever she wanted to go.” Another said, “I don’t see a problem with any of this because even though it might not turn out to be as upscale as what the drawings are presenting, I would rather see well-cared-for property as opposed to buildings with broken-out windows and boarded-up doors. It was awful to see that property deteriorate like that.”
The talk about the project on the IUP property even carried over to the Kittanning Borough Council Meeting held last night. “I give credit to the people who were there and gave their input,” said Council Member Chris Schiano. After briefing the members of Council and those in attendance about the details of the project, Schiano went on to say, “The important thing is that the whole project is subject to approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Hopefully, after they apply, they will get the tax credits. If they don’t, then we’re back to square one.”
Kittanning Borough, Local News | nlasher February 2, 2010
By RizzoSports, February 2, 2010 @ 1:03 PM
The two most important things are making sure the minimum age is 55. As mentioned at the first meeting it was said this would be the case for another 30 years, even if the property was sold.
Secondly they must construct these buildings well. Better than Valley View for sure. I’m not sure how that can be monitored, but it should be.
That said, if those two parameters are met, then it should be a good project and be good for the community.