Valparaiso leaders are looking into what could be a creative way to make affordable housing more available. Weiss Entities is seeking a tax abatement for renovations it plans to make to the Golfview Apartments, which it recently purchased.
Don Weiss says his company plans to invest $10 million dollars into the 240-unit complex. "All the doors go. All the surfaces get painted or new carpeting, new ceilings. All the cabinets go. All the appliances go, and the heating and air conditioning systems go. And then they're replaced with, like, stainless steel-front appliances, stone countertops," Weiss told the city council Tuesday.
As part of the abatement, Weiss wants the city to freeze Golfview's property taxes at their current level for 10 years. In return, it would agree to set aside 24 units for residents under certain income thresholds — such as 60 or 80 percent of the area's median income.
"With the concern over attainable housing, particularly for those that have more modest incomes, we're suggesting to use this tool in a new way, as one of the various ways we can try to make housing more attainable," said Mayor Jon Costas.
But city council members had several questions. For one thing, they noted that one proposed level of discounted rent was actually higher than the regular price.
"I think a set-aside is a great proposal, but if that's where your rents are going to be for the next three years, then, at least for those three years, it doesn't really sound like you're giving anything up because that's where your rent would be," said council member Emilie Hunt.
But Weiss argued that it would protect eligible tenants from future rent increases, and all tenants would benefit from the tax savings passed along to them.
Still, it isn't clear how much tax revenue would be abated over the ten years, since the owners aren't sure how the renovations would impact assessments. Weiss also didn't have a firm number of how many current tenants could potentially be priced out.
City Attorney Patrick Lyp said the two sides aren't tied to the proposed numbers, and there's still room for negotiation. "We can probably find some middle ground there that would benefit a significant number of residents, while at the same time, not overly burden the owner," Lyp said.
In the end, council members were willing to consider the idea and agreed to have a couple members discuss options with Weiss and both sides' attorneys.
