Building affordable housing strategically is key to regenerating older neighborhoods

In declining neighborhoods, high crime, poor schools, and a lack of amenities can contribute to further abandonment. I learned plenty about development ideas for improvement from the book, Regenerating Older Suburbs by the Urban Land Institute. 

In many cities and older suburbs, the scattered nature of land availability, the cost of assembling parcels, and dealing with public actions, make it virtually impossible for the private real estate sector to carry out large-scale development. The impediments frequently frustrate market interests and divert development to where it is easier – on vacant or undeveloped land.

Orange County Commissioner District 2 Christine Moore

Book contributors Brophy and Vey present ten steps to help catalyze neighborhood revitalization. They state among the most important are - having an inventory of land and what is developing, having financial tools and incentives in place, and developing a land “bank.”

An economic development director and municipality should, according to a study by Max Neiman, review and offer different incentives such as: facilitating quick permitting tax increment financing, private promotion groups, consistent development rules, business networking, assembly of land for private use, ombudsman services, community block grants, promotion, improved quality of schools, partnerships with colleges/universities, subsidies for infrastructure, improving local amenities, loans for businesses, joint ventures with other cities, state enterprise zones, grants for businesses, utility discounts, relief from development fees, loans for startups, rebate sales tax, increasing business land, and increasing density or height requirements.

For example, regeneration policies in the United Kingdom are much more focused on urban policy than in the United States. Based on an index, the Brits have spent more than $6 billion in what they call high-deprivation areas. They weigh the following: employment, health deprivation and disability, education, skills, and training, geographic access to services, and housing. Some 8,414 neighborhoods were evaluated and ranked with this index.  

We must build affordable housing near services such as public transit, shopping, medical services, quality educational facilities, etc. For example, a comprehensive look at South Apopka would easily come up with the lack of shopping options, childcare facilities, and medical offices. And let us never forget the importance of access to jobs that pay a living wage. We must remedy the lack of amenities by actively seeking out and incentivizing businesses to locate in these lower-income areas.

This year, I hope to recruit a Publix back to the Lockhart/North Pine Hills area. I will be promulgating a petition throughout the nearby neighborhoods and taking the county’s economic development team with me for a visit.