Comments on: Avalon Housing: Near North Won’t Work

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 02:03:42 +0000

The Arborwiki page referenced in #18 is now there. Edit away!

By: Rob B.

Rob B. — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:29:26 +0000

I too would like to see whom is responsible for all the invested money thus far, as well as how much money tax payers are left to pay the bill for another failed Avalon Housing project. Perhaps AnnArbor city government will allocate funding to more successful organizations such as Ozone,Dawns farms, or Safe House. Has everyone forgot the controversal 1500 Pauline project Avalon still has yet to produce?

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:04:59 +0000

ArborWiki is a great place to scoop up the contents of lists like the one that folks are collaborating on in this comment thread: [make this ArborWiki page]. To be clear, I don't mean to imply that this isn't a sensible use of a comment thread. It's just that I think it'd be worth assembling it into coherent form on ArborWiki, too.

By: Dave Cahill

Dave Cahill — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:29:13 +0000

And yet another:

The Madison/Moravian. Egad! How could I forget that?

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:01:32 +0000

One more, Ashley Promenade: [link] which was to be built on the Kline's lot.

By: David Cahill

David Cahill — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:07:37 +0000

Further items on the “bye bye boondoggle” list:

Metro 202
Tierra on Ashley
Thompson Terrace

By: Jack Eaton

Jack Eaton — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:25:41 +0000

Re (2), David, 42 North was approved by Council only once (after being rejected once as a planned project). The collapse of the housing market apparently led to the loss of financing for that project. Another project called The Grove was announced but never proceeded beyond the public participation meetings. We keep track of the various proposals at www.southmaple.org I would add to your list of failures, the various promised projects for the Georgetown Mall site. The difference between the 42 North site and some of these other projects is that the failure to build the 42 North student housing project didn't leave the site in worse shape than it was in before the project was proposed. Broadway Village, The Gallery, Georgetown and Near North have all had an adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

By: Margaret S

Margaret S — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:17:00 +0000

@12 David Cahill – Capital Fund Services, Inc. is a non-profit finance company in Michigan that lends money to low income housing projects. They have financed portions of other Avalon projects.

By: David Cahill

David Cahill — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:45:52 +0000

The public interest would be served by a complete explanation of the finances and ownership of Near North. Yes,Ann Arbor Chronicle, this means you!! Since some of the players appear to be willing to “try again” on this property, it would be helpful to know how to analyze any future proposal.

From what Margaret S. says, there is a complex array of entities involved. This arrangement may be completely standard when tax-funded housing is concerned. Or maybe not. Are these entities tax shelters? What is Capital Fund Services? What is the likelihood that Capital Fund Services will ever see significant mortgage payments now that the project is dead? Are there guarantors for those payments?

How is he entity commonly known as Avalon Housing organized? Has it been involved in similar transactions in the past?

I’m looking forward to an intriguing article showing who has done what to whom, and where the ultimate liability lies.

By: Margaret S

Margaret S — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 09:37:26 +0000

I would like to know how much debt Avalon has taken on in this project. 3 Oaks, the for-profit developer who bought the house at peak rates, no longer owns the properties. A non-profit limited liability partnership took ownership in 2010 and had the properties removed from the tax rolls. This non-profit LLP is made up of two partners – Near North Oaks GP LLC and Near North Avalon, Inc. Each partner is itself an independent, limited liability entity. I don’t know if these entities have any legal or financial ties to Avalon or 3 Oaks. I do know that partnership (Near North LLP) signed and recorded a mortgage from Capital Fund Services in December, 2010 for 2.4 million dollars. Does this mean that 3 Oaks was paid for the land (making a hefty profit from their 1.3 million purchase price) leaving the non-profit entities saddled with all the debt? Have they been making payments on this mortgage since 2010 or are they headed to foreclosure? What does this debt mean for Avalon’s future?