By: Diane Benjamin
How about a luxury apartment subsidized by taxpayers? Is this Normal’s version of affordable housing?
1 Uptown Circle would never have been built without taxpayer money. Normal continues to rent an entire floor for close to $36,000 a month so around 20 employees can work there. Remember when the Council named it a HIGH PRIORITY to do something about the excessive cost last year? The “professional staff” evidently doesn’t. Obviously the Council isn’t the “Board of Directors”, staff runs the town.
The first floor remains empty – never leased or rented since the building was finished.
In case you forgot, The Town of Normal sold the property for $1 and loaned the developer $2.75 million. Details in this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/17/more-on-uptown-circle/
The story above has a link to a Pantagraph story from July 4, 2016. Who was on the Town Council when this passed? https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2130
I wonder if Pam Reece’s mother-in-law still lives in the subsidized housing? From a letter she wrote in April of last year:
In case you want to be neighbors, #304 is available: https://www.liveonthecircle.com/vacancies
Normal’s government is selfish. They lavish millions on themselves, their family, and friends while people literally freeze in tents, neighborhoods have rusty water pouring from their faucets, and many of our roads are pothole laden.
Here is a link to a story showing the homeless encampments in our community.
https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/out-in-the-cold-path-reaches-out-to-homeless-living-in-tents/article_ab9b7e6a-242e-5e0b-961a-55522824de8d.html
Maybe those “compassionate” members of the Town Council could suggest converting these unoccupied units into Section 8 housing.
Better yet, rent them out to BUSINESS folks who have a NEED to be in “uptown” and quick procrastinating with OUR money!
Normal has as much business renting a $36,000 a month office as Noah did for a swimming pool..
This is the kind of stuff that is absolutely inexcusable and it’s what I’ve been fighting against for years. It’s also what the majority of voters voted to keep in office in the town of Normal. Ironically, I think I could make a very good case for discrimination on the basis of the actions of the current Council that after this election remains in power. There is a stronghold within the current administration that has a very tight lock on self interests that are unrepresentative of the rank in file in Normal. Unfortunately it does not play out in the election cycle because people are either uninformed, deceived or apathetic, or all of the above. Those who do vote for this are indeed discriminatory and they are lording their power over us with an inaccurate understanding of democracy.
Personally, I have always thought it takes a real special kind of self importance coupled with stupidity to put out that much money in rent.
The issue is NOT that someone can afford to pay high rent rates. The issue IS that taxpayers subsidized 60% of the construction costs plus taxpayer continue to pour money into this building that taxpayers do not own. For this expense;
– taxpayers do not own the building nor do they share in the profits
– wealthy and connected elites get their luxury apartment rentals cheaper thanks to the taxpayer subsidy
– Normal town staff demand that they continue to occupy the most expensive office rental in town, at taxpayer expense of course, while town owned office space sits vacant or rented for zero to extremely little to friends of the mayor or town manager.
WGLT provided the justification for the 60% claim.
https://www.wglt.org/post/estimating-taxpayer-support-uptown-construction-project#stream/0
And the renters are not paying property taxes like homeowners in Normal are. Neither are the owners of the building. It’s in a TIF district. So when our property taxes continue to increase the renters and owners of this building are the ones getting the tax breaks. Outrageous!