University District Partnership Alliance Project
In April, the University District Partnership Alliance Steering Committee approved a demonstration project that could bring up to $730,000 to help preserve and encourage homeownership in the area. The approved proposal, entitled Preserving, Maintaining, and Increasing Homeownership, seeks to restore homeownership confidence and investment in the University District.
Major components of the proposal include:
* An ‘option to buy’ program for current home owners that will provide up to $2,500 to people willing to give the Alliance a first option to buy their home when and if they decide to sell it. If it is sold to the Alliance it can then be held for, and sold to, a new owner-occupied home owner. This will be targeted to one area in each of the University neighborhoods, which can demonstrate the power to instill homeowner confidence.
The target areas in Marcy Holmes and Southeast Como, however, will serve as the first demonstration project areas for the “option to buy” component in 2008.
* A “Live Near Your Work” campaign to promote the commitment of the University community and to market its homes to employees in and near the community who would like to live near their work places.
* A homebuyer assistance program that provides financial incentives of up to $15,000 in the form of forgivable loans to promote owner-occupied homeownership available to new homebuyers anywhere in the District.
* Funding up to $500,000 to provide rehabilitation gap financing to houses that will be bought as owner-occupied homes.
* Staff to manage the project.
