Low-income housing developer says property values will increase
Controversy Neighbours argue putting single poor people in one building will stigmatize occupants
Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN - A subsidized housing development slated for Carmarthen Street will not transform the south end into a ghetto and local residents will likely see their property values increase, not the other way around, developer Bill O'Neill says.
Noel Chenier/Telegraph-Journal
Bill O'Neill, president of the Tannery Court Co-operative, on the site of a proposed subsidized housing development at 185 Carmarthen St. in the city’s south end.
O'Neill, president of the non-profit group Tannery Court Co-operative, said the considerable public opposition that has surrounded the development in recent weeks stems from a misunderstanding of the project.
Opponents in the south end area say the 51-unit apartment complex, scheduled for construction at 185 Carmarthen St., will concentrate too many low-income residents in an area that already faces a high poverty rate.
They say the development will hamper the quality of life for all residents in the area, including those living in the apartments.
O'Neill, however, said potential residents will face a rigorous screening process, with criminal and credit checks and interviews with their peers.
He said the apartment building will be supervised and maintained by a resident manager. A second manager will help residents find jobs, secure government assistance, manage their finances and care for their apartments, O'Neill said.
"Our experience over the last 10, 12 years is that this model works and works extremely well in terms of giving people safe, secure, affordable housing," O'Neill said.
"Property values (in the area) will increase, not diminish with our project. This Tannery will be a wonderful addition in terms of perhaps spurring other development in the south end," he said.
"We're in this for the long haul. We don't put up a building, collect the rents and walk away."
At full capacity, the Carmarthen Street development will house 51 residents in one-bedroom apartments. Residents are expected to be 20 to 50 years old, earning less than $20,000 a year.
They will pay about 30 per cent of their incomes to live in the apartments and the province will cover the difference.
O'Neill said more than 80 per cent of the residents will likely have physical or health conditions. He said the apartment will not draw many low-income earners from other areas as about 95 per cent of the residents are expected to come from the south end.
The project, however, has been met with considerable public opposition, exploding last week during a ward meeting in the south end, where residents blasted Tannery Court for proposing a building they said would transform their community into a ghetto.
Many residents also took aim at Coun. Carl Killen, a member of the planning advisory committee, for helping give the project a green light.
The committee approved zoning variances for the development, such as fewer parking and green spaces, which was the only level of consent from the city Tannery Court required.
The developer is now poised to buy the property and has signed a sale agreement with the Saint John Parking Commission, which owns the land.
Resident Howard LaBillois, a staunch opponent, said the Tannery apartments will unfairly concentrate low-income residents in his south end community.
He said these residents will vacate their old affordable housing units in the area as they move to the Tannery apartments, making way for even more low-income residents to live in the south end.
LaBillois said Tannery Court did not hold enough public consultations on its project before it signed a formal agreement with the parking commission.
"If the development was half the size of what it is now, like 25 people, we would have a lot less concern about it. But the fact that they are warehousing 50, statistically, you are introducing a lot more risk into our neighbourhood," said LaBillois.
"No one was thinking about what the community needs and the long-term impact that it's going to have."
O'Neill said Tannery Court had to move quickly to find a Saint John site for its development. If the group does not have "considerable work done" on the property before next March, it will not receive government funding, he said.
Poverty researcher Kurt Peacock estimates the development could increase the south end area's already high poverty rate of 47 per cent by one or two percentage points.
"There is that real potential that this building that is being constructed with the best of intentions could increase the neighbourhood poverty rate, just by its sheer size and the fact that it's geared toward 100 per cent occupancy of low-income residents," said Peacock.
South end residents and city councillors Killen and Donnie Snook are expected to hold a public meeting with Tannery officials next Thursday to discuss the development.
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