Monday, December 05, 2005
More on Sursum Corda Deal
Here's another Post piece on the (not quite in the immediate area, but still not too distant & very interesting) housing complex Sursum Corda (located a bit west of the New York Ave metro station). Under the deal that residents have struck with developers, residents would get $80k & would have the opportunity to remain in the complex after it is redeveloped. Many questions still remain. Is the land undervalued? Will the developers keep their promise? Even if the developers keep their promise, will it work? What can residents who choose to take the money and go really do with $80k?
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3 comments:
Seems to me that a lot can be done with a bulk payment of $80,000.
One of the biggest potentials it has is to pull people off of government assistance so that they can support themselves.
with 80,000 one could afford studies and rent for quite some time. it could be a great springboard for some people.
But, the talk that people who make less than $25,000 a year can afford to BUY a home in the city with an 80,000 down payment doesn't make sense to me.
It isn't just $80,000 it is also a 49% share in the profits. On top of the fact that they were being threatened with forclosure it isn't that bad a deal.
One thing that struck me after reading the article was the fact that many of the residents of Sursum Corda have been there for long periods of time. The three residents interviwed in the article have lived there since 1968, 1977 and 1978 respectively. That strikes me as a long time to live anywhere, and a particularly long time to live in a housing development that has been "troubled" for going on twenty years. I suppose there are several factors at play here, such as a lack of resources to move, sense of community, or even simple inertia. Still, it's remarkable, and also perhaps sheds some light on why the pace of urban renewal is often so glacial.
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