MIDTOWN: Excellent place for apartments
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 1 month AGO
I’d like to respond to the story about “Miracle on 4th St.” in Saturday’s Press.
I guess I’m confused about why the area neighbors are in such an uproar over the proposed tax-credit apartments.
One of the comments was that the apartment market in Coeur d’Alene/Kootenai County was already overbuilt. I urge you to look in the Sunday paper and see how very few apartments are listed. The housing foreclosure mess is forcing many individuals and families out of their homes and into rentals.
The apartments may be called “low income,” but the rents for a two bed/one bath will be mostly $500-$600. They usually have just a couple in a complex that might be $375 and also full market rent units for close to $700.
This means most of the units will have working tenants. Are you afraid this is all welfare free housing? NO it is not. Are you afraid that renters are low-class criminals? NO. Go online and visit the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and look up the statistics for midtown now and other areas with tax-credit apartments.
In fact the application process is very strict with background and criminal checks done on all adults that will live there. And they will have an on-site manager — more than can be said for many rental houses and units in midtown that have out-of-state owners and who, in fact, do let their properties get run down.
I think we all want Coeur d’Alene to be alive and thriving, which means affordable housing for our growing community must be available. Downtown workers need affordable housing nearby! Most of you know we live in a low-wage area in Kootenai County and many employees are considered the “working poor.” We are adding students at North Idaho College who move here from out-of-state and from other counties, and they need affordable housing too.
Midtown is an excellent place for this new apartment complex. The renovation of midtown is really revitalizing the area. It will not bring more criminals or crime. It will bring more shoppers and people that care about the community and its new vitality.
LaVONNE LYNCH
Former property manager
Hayden