While you were busy working to make your mortgage payment and struggling to pay your taxes the Chattanooga Housing Authority's $8.8 million 48 unit low-income housing development ($183,300+ per apartment) in Avondale just got a little pricier for you and me. It's now approaching $190,000 per unit according to the CHA website, which currently lists the project's new total at $9.1 million.
When asked several months ago to justify the original cost officials cited "community revitalization." That's a good sound bite but is this the same type of revitalization that has never taken place in the community at the $35 million CHA project called "The Villages at Alton Park?"
On the bright side, I'm sure you'll feel like the aforementioned projects are relative taxpayer bargains when you learn of another CHA project called the "Fairmount Avenue Development." It's in North Chattanooga and will provide 18 low-income units for $4.5 million. This works out to... have a seat... $250,000 per dwelling.
Pretty extravagant for low-income housing, especially considering the median home value in Chattanooga is probably around half of that amount.
Of course affordable housing is desirable for deserving needy people but apparently there is no limit to the dollar amount spent by local and federal government entities for low-income housing. And the only thing that's being revitalized is the eagerness of HUD, the U.S. Dept. of Housing, and the CHA to freehandedly spend taxpayer money for more and more overindulgent government subsidized luxury housing.
Now back to work.
Dale Smith
Chattanooga