Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Downturn stalls home for deaf seniors
Valley deaf senior citizens who have worked for years to create a retirement housing facility designed for deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people may see their hopes dashed under the weight of the current economic crisis.
The Arizona Deaf Senior Citizens Coalition has worked for about the past three years with Cardinal Capital Management, a Wisconsin development firm, to build on East Apache Boulevard in Tempe a retirement home specifically designed to serve deaf people. But lenders that once lined up by Cardinal have withdrawn, and the tax credit incentives vital to securing a loan soon will expire.
Tom Posedly, 67, of Phoenix, is board chairman of the coalition, and said through an American Sign Language interpreter that deaf people can find life in a traditional retirement home isolating and difficult.
He said the desire to establish a community for the Valley's senior deaf people led him and the coalition to spend years fundraising and seeking grants to get the project off the ground. Finally, with more than $150,000 in hand, they established a partnership with Cardinal Capital Management and were granted by the Arizona Department of Housing $9 million in tax credits with which to secure a loan.
Erich Schwenker is president of Cardinal Capital Management, a company that has been instrumental in developing housing in the Midwest for blind people and senior citizens.
"This is agonizing for me, and certainly agonizing from the point of view of the folks in the deaf citizens coalition - so many people are being disappointed," he said. "This sort of problem with loans is going on all over the country, with lenders now on the sidelines. We had a loan lined up but as the financial markets collapsed, our deal collapsed with them. They (the lenders) will come back, but the tax credits the coalition has run out in December. What they need is time, and that's what they don't have."
Randy Archuleta, rental programs administrator for the Arizona Department of Housing, called the situation, "very complicated, very difficult, and in today's market, even more difficult."
Archuleta said tax credits are granted to states by the Internal Revenue Service and Arizona in 2007 was given $13 million in credits. The credits are used to attract lenders to projects such as affordable housing and housing for the disabled. Lenders given the credits can take that amount of money off their tax bill.
Archuleta said that in 2007, the state granted the deaf collation $9 million in credits, but since the IRS wants to be sure the credits are used in a timely way and that projects are not strung out indefinitely, a time limit of 24 months is set on projects using the credits. In this case, the deaf facility would have to be completed by the end of 2009.
The coalition moved forward with their plans, architectural drawings were completed and city permits obtained. Three months ago, when it was almost time to break ground and start building, the economy began a tailspin.
"Nobody expected the financial markets to fall apart, but that's what has happened to this project," Archuleta said. "There are no villains in this thing."
Tempe Redevelopment Manager Larry Schmalz said the city did everything it could to streamline the process of getting plans approved and even waived 50 percent of planning fees.
"We have supported them from the start," Schmalz said. "We've assigned staff to work with them and we have wanted this to go forward as quickly as possible. But they are in the same situation with many groups right now. There is no lender, and their time is about out."
Tempe officials said that about the only thing that would salvage the deal would be for the IRS to grant an extension of time for use of the tax credits.
That would involve getting the help of one of the state's U.S. senators or congressmen. Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell has heard of the deaf community's plight. So far, his help has not been requested by the coalition.
"Congressman Mitchell would like to see this project be a success because it would be a regional asset for the deaf community," Mitchell spokesman Robbie Sherwood said. "On the tax credit issue, we are willing to listen to a request for help, and if there is a way for Congressman Mitchell to help in this matter, he would be willing to try."
Valley deaf senior citizens who have worked for years to create a retirement housing facility designed for deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people may see their hopes dashed under the weight of the current economic crisis.
The Arizona Deaf Senior Citizens Coalition has worked for about the past three years with Cardinal Capital Management, a Wisconsin development firm, to build on East Apache Boulevard in Tempe a retirement home specifically designed to serve deaf people. But lenders that once lined up by Cardinal have withdrawn, and the tax credit incentives vital to securing a loan soon will expire.
Tom Posedly, 67, of Phoenix, is board chairman of the coalition, and said through an American Sign Language interpreter that deaf people can find life in a traditional retirement home isolating and difficult.
He said the desire to establish a community for the Valley's senior deaf people led him and the coalition to spend years fundraising and seeking grants to get the project off the ground. Finally, with more than $150,000 in hand, they established a partnership with Cardinal Capital Management and were granted by the Arizona Department of Housing $9 million in tax credits with which to secure a loan.
Erich Schwenker is president of Cardinal Capital Management, a company that has been instrumental in developing housing in the Midwest for blind people and senior citizens.
"This is agonizing for me, and certainly agonizing from the point of view of the folks in the deaf citizens coalition - so many people are being disappointed," he said. "This sort of problem with loans is going on all over the country, with lenders now on the sidelines. We had a loan lined up but as the financial markets collapsed, our deal collapsed with them. They (the lenders) will come back, but the tax credits the coalition has run out in December. What they need is time, and that's what they don't have."
Randy Archuleta, rental programs administrator for the Arizona Department of Housing, called the situation, "very complicated, very difficult, and in today's market, even more difficult."
Archuleta said tax credits are granted to states by the Internal Revenue Service and Arizona in 2007 was given $13 million in credits. The credits are used to attract lenders to projects such as affordable housing and housing for the disabled. Lenders given the credits can take that amount of money off their tax bill.
Archuleta said that in 2007, the state granted the deaf collation $9 million in credits, but since the IRS wants to be sure the credits are used in a timely way and that projects are not strung out indefinitely, a time limit of 24 months is set on projects using the credits. In this case, the deaf facility would have to be completed by the end of 2009.
The coalition moved forward with their plans, architectural drawings were completed and city permits obtained. Three months ago, when it was almost time to break ground and start building, the economy began a tailspin.
"Nobody expected the financial markets to fall apart, but that's what has happened to this project," Archuleta said. "There are no villains in this thing."
Tempe Redevelopment Manager Larry Schmalz said the city did everything it could to streamline the process of getting plans approved and even waived 50 percent of planning fees.
"We have supported them from the start," Schmalz said. "We've assigned staff to work with them and we have wanted this to go forward as quickly as possible. But they are in the same situation with many groups right now. There is no lender, and their time is about out."
Tempe officials said that about the only thing that would salvage the deal would be for the IRS to grant an extension of time for use of the tax credits.
That would involve getting the help of one of the state's U.S. senators or congressmen. Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell has heard of the deaf community's plight. So far, his help has not been requested by the coalition.
"Congressman Mitchell would like to see this project be a success because it would be a regional asset for the deaf community," Mitchell spokesman Robbie Sherwood said. "On the tax credit issue, we are willing to listen to a request for help, and if there is a way for Congressman Mitchell to help in this matter, he would be willing to try."