Markeshia Ricks Photo
Serena Neal-Sanjurjo: “Changing the way we do business.”
A private buyer got a step closer to transforming a blighted two-family home in the Hill into affordable housing, after an extended debate that ended with a tighter rehab deadline and a vow to demand more from people who buy property from the city.
After about eight months of deliberation, the Livable City Initiative’s Board of Directors Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to sell the long-vacant house at 59 Elliott St. for $10,000, during its special meeting at City Hall. (Read about those previous deliberations here, here and here.)
The board made that decision after receiving evidence that the would-be developer has the funds to do the extensive rehab of the house. The board also obtained a commitment from city anti-blight officials that the ensuing land disposition agreement, or LDA, will require that the units be affordable housing and that construction be completed within 12 months of the start of construction on the property instead of the standard 18 months.
The approval comes after months of directors raising concerns about the deal. Chief among those concerns was that the developer lacked experience and might not have the capacity to complete the work; that directors weren’t privy to the developer’s source of funding to complete the rehab; and that the offer price was low compared to the property’s appraised value.
The developer, city schools official Gemma Lumpkin, wasn’t at Wednesday’s meeting. But LCI Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo assured the board that Lumpkin had provided documentation showing that she has access to $48,000 in cash and to up to another $100,000 in conditional funding to acquire the property and cover the rehabilitation cost. Lumpkin has estimated that the cost to overhaul the property and make it ready for tenants is about $60,000.
Neal-Sanjurjo said the final LDA, which would still have to be approved by the Board of Alders, will stipulate that the property is developed as affordable housing and within a timeline dictated by the city.
Carly Wanna Photo
59 Elliott St.
LCI Board Chair Tim Yolen, who had pushed LCI over the months of deliberation to be more thorough at addressing the board’s concerns and making sure that future LDAs are legally more binding, still expressed concerns that the board won’t see all the particulars of the agreement before it is signed. He pushed LCI officials at Wednesday evening’s meeting to continue to make that process more transparent.
Neal-Sanjurjo said in the past LDAs were simply submitted to the board with little fanfare. She said she welcomes the board’s efforts to scrutinize the deals more closely. She noted that all LDAs are now written with strict provisions that outline the city’s expectations for projects, including timelines for completion and conditions for which the city can take back the property should the agreement be breached.
“I know that we’re doing things differently and I’m glad of that,” she said. “We’re changing the way we do business.”
Director Seth Poole reminded Neal-Sanjurjo that his original heartburn with the deal had been the low proposed selling price of $10,000. The appraised value of the property is $108,000. Given the fact that the developer getting the property at such a low cost, he asked why the city would provide a generous 18-month construction time frame. He noted that the desire is to get the blighted property back on the tax rolls as quickly as possible. Why not make the timeline for four or six months? he asked.
Neal-Sanjurjo said six months would be aggressive, but she said 12 months wouldn’t be unreasonable. Ultimately, directors voted to allow the purchase price to stand at $10,000 but shortened the timeline for completing the project to 12 months.
Yolen said after the meeting that in the past LDAs had generously favored those who purchased blighted properties rather than the best interest of the city. He said he doesn’t want to see properties languish for years. If the city’s going to sell a property at such a steep discount it has to hold people accountable for getting construction done in the timeliest manner possible, he said. (Read here about the city’s plan to renegotiate defunct LDAs.)
“If you’re going to get a very good deal. you have to get the work done,” he said.
Contacted after the meeting, Lumpkin said she’s ready to get to work and glad to have finally cleared this hurdle.
“I love New Haven and am very excited to be part of the solution,” she stated in a text message. “Affordable housing is a basic need that impacts our families and our children. I look forward to playing a part in addressing this need.”
She added that as a single mother raising two children in the city, she sees cleaning up the house and renting it as a way to help another family like hers have a safe and affordable place to live.
“That’s really the underpinning of all of this,” she said.
Thank you, Tim Yolen, for pushing for full transparency.
It should not be such a struggle.