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Napa OKs condo conversion
Advocates for renters object to shift in current tight rental market
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CommentCadillac Flats will be going condo.
The Napa City Council approved the conversion of the 38-unit apartment project on Soscol Avenue to ownership housing Tuesday, over the objections of advocates for low-income families.
The Napa City Council approved the conversion of the 38-unit apartment project on Soscol Avenue to ownership housing Tuesday, over the objections of advocates for low-income families.
Representatives for social service organizations said the city’s rental market is much tighter today than in 2005, when a surge in apartment construction opened the door to condo conversion applications.
“The market has drastically changed,” said Sue Dee Shenk, executive director of Napa Valley Community Housing. Losing 38 apartments will occur at a time when people who have lost their homes to foreclosure are looking for a place to rent, she said.
“The market has drastically changed,” said Sue Dee Shenk, executive director of Napa Valley Community Housing. Losing 38 apartments will occur at a time when people who have lost their homes to foreclosure are looking for a place to rent, she said.
Council members conceded the plight of low-income renters, but praised Cadillac Flats as a way for other renters to buy a home in high-price Napa.
Two-bedroom condos will sell for between $280,000 and $320,000, making them by far the cheapest entry-level housing in the city, said Randy Gularte, a Realtor advising the Cadillac Flats project.
Two-bedroom condos will sell for between $280,000 and $320,000, making them by far the cheapest entry-level housing in the city, said Randy Gularte, a Realtor advising the Cadillac Flats project.
Most two-bedroom condos in this town begin in the $400,000s and rise sharply from there, Gularte said.
“I think it’s important that we provide some ownership opportunities for the middle class in Napa,” said Norbert Doran, who built Cadillac Flats 15 years ago.
Most council members agreed with Doran, with Councilwoman Juliana Inman saying bare lots cost more than $300,000 these days.
There is a “crisis” in the low-income rental market, but entry-level ownership housing is similarly hard to come by, Councilman Peter Mott said.
The vote to approve Cadillac Flats for condos was 3-1, with Mark van Gorder voting no and Mayor Jill Techel absent.
Van Gorder said he agreed with advocates for the poor that today’s rental market is much tighter than in 2005, when the vacancy rate shot up above 5 percent, making conversions possible for the first time. This summer’s vacancy rate was 2.6 percent.
According to the city’s condo conversion ordinance, a vacancy rate below 3 percent represents a “severe rental housing shortage.”
Cadillac Flats applied for a conversion in late 2005, but it has taken until now to get a decision by the council.
Two-thirds of Cadillac’s 38 tenants have moved in since 2005, when everyone was put on notice that a condo conversion was in the works, Doran said. Everyone rents month to month.
Low-income tenants will get $10,000 in relocation assistance. Everyone else qualifies for $6,000.
Tenants will be given a $20,000 discount if they buy at Cadillac Flats. The first-floor condos will sell for $320,000, second floor units for $300,000.
Apartments will be thoroughly renovated by the time they go on sale next spring, with new kitchens, appliances, lighting and window fixtures, Gularte said. All heating and air conditioning units are being replaced. Buildings have been reroofed and painted. Carports will get new siding.
Buyers will pay condo dues of $260 a month, Gularte estimated. Because all major maintenance is being accomplished before the conversion, there should not be any special assessments for years to come, he said.
Shenk doubted that many of Cadillac Flats’ tenants, who now pay $1,000 a month, would be buying condos that carried mortgage, interest, taxes and fees of $1,800 a month.
Doran countered that $1,800 was a great deal. Buyers would have their own home, with values rising over time, he said.
Kathryn Winter, executive director of Fair Housing Napa Valley, spoke for the Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies in asking that the city phase in conversions if any are permitted.
Cadillac Flats, with 38 apartments, and Marina Vista on Marina Drive with 42 units, have been proceeding along parallel tracks toward condo conversions.
In effect, they will be phased naturally if both are approved, Gularte said. It seems likely that only Cadillac Flats will be ready for sale in 2008, he said.
Marina Vista has not yet had its applications heard by the council.
The council ordered Doran to provide reports on who buys at Cadillac Flats and what kind of assistance today’s renters receive.
Two tenants are elderly are will be allowed to remain renters for as long as they like.
Another six of the 38 condos will be sold at special low prices to be affordable to low-income families.
“I think it’s important that we provide some ownership opportunities for the middle class in Napa,” said Norbert Doran, who built Cadillac Flats 15 years ago.
Most council members agreed with Doran, with Councilwoman Juliana Inman saying bare lots cost more than $300,000 these days.
There is a “crisis” in the low-income rental market, but entry-level ownership housing is similarly hard to come by, Councilman Peter Mott said.
The vote to approve Cadillac Flats for condos was 3-1, with Mark van Gorder voting no and Mayor Jill Techel absent.
Van Gorder said he agreed with advocates for the poor that today’s rental market is much tighter than in 2005, when the vacancy rate shot up above 5 percent, making conversions possible for the first time. This summer’s vacancy rate was 2.6 percent.
According to the city’s condo conversion ordinance, a vacancy rate below 3 percent represents a “severe rental housing shortage.”
Cadillac Flats applied for a conversion in late 2005, but it has taken until now to get a decision by the council.
Two-thirds of Cadillac’s 38 tenants have moved in since 2005, when everyone was put on notice that a condo conversion was in the works, Doran said. Everyone rents month to month.
Low-income tenants will get $10,000 in relocation assistance. Everyone else qualifies for $6,000.
Tenants will be given a $20,000 discount if they buy at Cadillac Flats. The first-floor condos will sell for $320,000, second floor units for $300,000.
Apartments will be thoroughly renovated by the time they go on sale next spring, with new kitchens, appliances, lighting and window fixtures, Gularte said. All heating and air conditioning units are being replaced. Buildings have been reroofed and painted. Carports will get new siding.
Buyers will pay condo dues of $260 a month, Gularte estimated. Because all major maintenance is being accomplished before the conversion, there should not be any special assessments for years to come, he said.
Shenk doubted that many of Cadillac Flats’ tenants, who now pay $1,000 a month, would be buying condos that carried mortgage, interest, taxes and fees of $1,800 a month.
Doran countered that $1,800 was a great deal. Buyers would have their own home, with values rising over time, he said.
Kathryn Winter, executive director of Fair Housing Napa Valley, spoke for the Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies in asking that the city phase in conversions if any are permitted.
Cadillac Flats, with 38 apartments, and Marina Vista on Marina Drive with 42 units, have been proceeding along parallel tracks toward condo conversions.
In effect, they will be phased naturally if both are approved, Gularte said. It seems likely that only Cadillac Flats will be ready for sale in 2008, he said.
Marina Vista has not yet had its applications heard by the council.
The council ordered Doran to provide reports on who buys at Cadillac Flats and what kind of assistance today’s renters receive.
Two tenants are elderly are will be allowed to remain renters for as long as they like.
Another six of the 38 condos will be sold at special low prices to be affordable to low-income families.
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Ruff Limblog wrote on Sep 21, 2007 7:55 AM:
Bill wrote on Sep 21, 2007 8:40 AM: