Arkansas Blog

Bill Watt was a jerk twenty years ago and he is a jerk today.

You are correct, Max, to play watchdog over this potential honeyhole for cronies. It needs to be composed of fair-minded citizens who live near the properties they will work with. We don't need politicos and WLR real estate interests involved in trying to fix the problems downtown and in midtown--problems they created in the first place!

This is a terrific opportunity for Mayor Mark to show wisdom and leadership by selecting the right people for this board. Let's keep our fingers crossed...

Since I know none of the above I will do the unusual and keep my mouth shut.

This scum, Watt needs to stay in a field that fits him and away from public interest. He shows zero remorse based on previos swarmy actions, so NO FORGIVENESS!

I am going to hammer the Mayor on not allowing this to happen and to make certain this board is set-up in a fair, tranparent civic mnded manner.

THANKS AGAIN MAX - for all you do.

Of course you never thought to mention this here when it might do some good.

ARK. BLOG: Oh, but I did.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/02/land_banker.aspx

Again, abandoned and distressed properties are that way for a reason: the neighborhood has undergone a disinvestment process. It has reached the point at which it will not be economically practical for an owner to reinvest in the property, because proximity to surrounding substandard properties would negate the added value.

I can see only two possible solutions to the problem. One is to subsidize not only redevelopment of the abandoned properties, but also revinvestment by owners of surrounding properties for a sizeable area; that would enable low-income occupants to remain in the area and perhaps attract some middle-income people back to it. Some owners will not cooperate, however, and there is the risk of repeated disinvestment. The second is to acquire, and transfer at a discount to a developer, enough real property to effect an entirely different land use. That's what the federal government used to call "urban renewal" and the Black community saw as "Negro removal." After the bitterness created by Urban Renewal's acquisition of people's homes at only appraised value, the federal government began requiring relocation benefits that put people whose homes were condemned into comparable, standard housing at no net cost to them.

I suspect that what we are about to see here is a local repetition of the fed's bitterness-engendering "Negro removal" program. I can't see the City of Little Rock finding enough money to provide subsidies of the magnitude that would be required to enable a developer to make it pay without screwing a bunch of people.

Yeah, I saw the story, not the deadline for applying.

Snap, do you think the only solution is condemnation of whole neighborhoods? What about a smaller-scale re-building of affordable one-family houses on lots now vacant? Why can't a series of infill homes go up that blend in with the homes surrounding them? Why do you think only big deveopers should be considered for the job? Aren't there individuals who would buy lots at a discount and then build a spec house on it? I think so. And the job of the land bank should be to acquire and then sell properties to the people who can rebuild in the gaps. No cronyism. No kidding.

"...potential honeyhole for cronies"? I assume by "cronies" you are including Gabe Holmstrom, former Exec. Dir. of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, also listed above as one of the applicants.

Hillcrustian, it would be great if potential single family homeowners or small contractors could build a home, given a lot. However, if construction alone costs $80 per square foot, that is $96,000. If comparables in the area have sold in a range of $60,000 to $75,000, a mortgage to finance the deal would have to be less than that. If the potential homeowner can afford, say $20,000 down, he or she probably would want to invest where potential for appreciation is greater.

I myself would prefer individual families and small development contractors to benefit from any subsidized housing program, but I think successful reinvestment of a neighborhood is a large scale undertaking, of necessity. Only a rising tide lifts all boats. An ebbing tide lowers them all.

I meant, but forgot to say, "...$96,000 for a 1,200 square-foot home."

Please - appoint NO real estate people to this commission. Otherwise, it will probably resemble the Planning Commission which freely disregards all previous zonings and allows wholesale changes in favor of business interests - and s**** the gullible homeowners that relied on the existing zoning when they bought their houses - they should have known better.

Wow! There are several applicants whose backgrounds deserve some investigation! Can a City Director be appointed to this board? Conflict of interest? Don't know, just asking. Without the realtors and builders, there would be mighty slim pickings. Perhaps builders should also be excluded? My current opinion of Stodola is rapidly going down the drain. Sorry I wasted my vote.