Helen Lui on not-for-profit development
Economic viability is similar to market housing, rents pay for construction costs
One thing I’ve learned from talking to people working in not-for-profit development is that non-profit housing projects run into exactly the same barriers as market projects: getting approval, making the project economically viable. In particular, economic viability looks pretty similar: the stream of future rents has to pay for the total cost of constructing the building, even if land is free. If costs are too high, the project won’t happen.
A great Twitter thread by Helen Lui (formerly with Catalyst) on her experience working in not-for-profit development. I particularly liked this part, describing how people who don’t trust for-profit developers aren’t going to trust not-for-profit developers either:
I also used to hold deep distrust for those who develop housing & if they would be motivated to help us out of this crisis. After all, we see cranes throughout our cities & I certainly couldn't afford a new build. Meanwhile folks online were boasting about investing in homes.
I started working for a not-for-profit developer that built & operated new, below-market homes, for median income earning folks - or - much of our general population who couldn't afford new homes.
I felt quite proud that I was part of the solution & not of greedBut much of these good feelings disappeared when I went to my first public hearing on a brand new non-market apartment project. People came out to decry it with complaints about profit, devaluing their homes, ruining their community with poors and renters.
"But no, we're the good ones, & this isn't for profit" was the gist of what I'd say back.
"I don't believe you, It's a trick, you don't care about anyone but yourself and ruining our community"
Project after project, I heard the same comments & complaints.
Not everyone likes cities. And it’s natural for people to fear change to their neighbourhood. Both of these are reasons for people to oppose new housing next door, whether it’s affordable or not.
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Helen Lui speaking to council at the public hearing on the Streamlining Rental policy, November 2021. She noted that when council had decided in July 2020 to delay the policy for “more fulsome consultation,” it had resulted in one not-for-profit project being killed and one being scaled back. Or as she described it elsewhere:
As someone who works on projects that live & die by these policies getting enacted or delayed (we had two that were anticipating this getting approved sooner as staff thought it'd get supported, one of which had to be cancelled, and the other just resulted in fewer affordable rental units at a higher cost); can I just say - it really sucks.
We need Xof News that does the opposite of Fox News: makes people *less* paranoid and suspicious in general, and *more* able to distinguish exploiters and grifters from honest businesses.
We've hit the point where the human race has all the tools it needs for everybody to have modest plenty and safety - every remaining problem is because, collectively, as a society, we don't WANT to fix it. And a lot of that is because of a propagandized population.