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To: Jim McMannis who wrote (207708)	6/21/2009 11:45:04 AM
From: John Chen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

"Does anyone here thing the Stimulus plan is working?" Sure, working AGAINST the well-being of ALL middle class, the honest, responsible conservatives, EDIT: the endangered class.

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (207708)	6/21/2009 1:35:55 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

what plan is that? we haven't seen a dollar on the big island yet...

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (207708)	6/21/2009 2:49:25 PM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Just what is needed more housing? are these people nuts? Stalled projects waiting for stimulus Developers jostle for $110M in federal funds By Laura Crimaldi \| Sunday, June 21, 2009 \| bostonherald.com \| Local Coverage Photo by Ted Fitzgerald Cities and towns across the state are waiting anxiously for the federal government to turn on the spigot to let $100 million in stimulus money aimed at creating thousands of construction jobs and 1,500 housing units start gushing into the Bay State’s parched economy. Affordable housing developers are eager to apply for the $110 million in federal funds awarded to Massachusetts last month to ignite projects that were sidelined by the busted tax-credit market. The state estimates the projects will generate 2,100 construction jobs. “We think it’s pretty significant. The No. 1 reason is the jobs component,” said David Price, head of Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation in Roxbury. The agency is applying for federal funds to finance its $19 million effort to build 48 rental units on the former Kasanof Bakery site in Roxbury. The project, which was awarded $8 million in tax credits, will create 60 construction jobs in a 12-month building schedule. “We’re hoping to have a good number of local people from Roxbury employed. It’s really important for people in the neigborhood, not just the general Boston economy,” Price said. At a standstill Data provided by the state Department of Housing and Community Development shows that 25 affordable housing projects in 17 communities have been stalled because the developers could not find buyers for their tax credits. There are six Boston projects on the list, including plans to rehab 103 rental units at Jamaica Plain Apartments and build mixed-use developments in Jackson Square and on the grounds of the closed Blessed Sacrament parish in Jamaica Plain. Those projects will create 260 construction jobs, according to their developers, Urban Edge and Jamaica Plain Neigborhood Development Corp., respectively. In addition, two projects on the state’s stalled list - United Front Homes in New Bedford and Longhill Gardens in Springfield - are expected to go forward without stimulus aid, according to their developers. Combined, the projects will create 175 construction jobs. “We are happy to report we closed on Longhill Gardens redevelopment last week and have commenced construction,” Gilbert Winn, managing principal of WinnCompanies, said in an e-mail. “The project will generate approximately 100 construction jobs, over half of which our contractor will fill with Springfield and surrounding-area workers.” The estimated 2,100 construction jobs expected to be created statewide is based on a formula provided by the auditing firm Deloitte LLP, DHCD spokesman Philip C. Hailer said in an e-mail. About 1,580 affordable housing units have been affected in some way by the stagnant tax-credit market, according to a state estimate provided to Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). Where credit is due The federal government awards tax credits to the states annually based on population. Developers sell the credits to investors who reduce their taxable income by the amount of the credit each year for 10 years. In turn, developers must rent the units at affordable prices for families making 60 percent or less of the median income for a metropolitan area for at least 15 years. When the financial crisis set in last year, tax-credit buyers retreated and left developers who had relied heavily on such financing in a holding pattern, experts said. “There’s been a crisis in the financial markets which has stalled many affordable housing developments at a time when we’re in desperate need of affordable rental housing. The stimulus funds should help move these projects forward quickly,” said CHAPA executive director Aaron Gornstein. Unlike stimulus funds for transportation or education, the money to help projects ailing from the tax-credit market has been slower to flow because the program had to be built from scratch, said Mark A. Curtiss, director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. $110M available There is $50.8 million available for the Bay State through a Treasury Department tax-credit exchange program and $59 million available through a tax-credit assistance program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state is still hammering out the rules developers must follow to apply for the funds, which will be awarded through a competitive grant process, Hailer said. Price said he expects to hear whether Nuestra is awarded any funds by mid-August. “We really are in a state of transition from the feds in terms of implementation,” Hailer said. From the stimulus package, DHCD is administering $122 million in weatherization funds, $9.1 million in additional Community Development Block grants and $25.1 million in Community Service Block grants. “It’s all about transparency and accountability to make sure that these funds are used wisely and serve the purpose for which they are intended,” Hailer said. The beleaguered construction industry wants to get building. “We chase projects large, small, whatever because it’s all part of the neighborhood fabric. It puts people to work and generates jobs,” said Jim Coyle, general agent for the Metropolitan Boston Building Trades Council. “You hear blurbs in the newspaper about the economy turning it around. Until you see cranes sticking up on the horizon, that’s when you’ll know that the economy has really turned.” Article URL: bostonherald.com Related Articles: Mass. foreclosures ease in May /business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1179696 G-8 officials turn to IMF over stimulus withdrawal /news/international/europe/view.bg?articleid=1178726 President Obama tries to buoy nation wary of ineffective stimulus /news/us_politics/view.bg?articleid=1177711