Roosevelt Historic District

Recent discussions at a June 28th community meeting sponsored by the Department of Historic Preservation regarding placing an Historic Preservation Overlay in the Triangle area are unwanted by both the community and the HP department. As far as I can see the issue is being press by Reid Butler, a local developer and City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission Member in order to secure development rights in the area. Butler Housing works with Historic Preservation Funds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Dirt Cheap Investment Dealers Association (IDA) Bond funds that cover all the cost of the development, essentially removing all risk from the developer. The developer then reaps typically 80-90% of the profit split of the development cash flow. Then, after approximately ten years the development is no longer obligated to be low income and the developer owns the property and can adjust lease rates accordingly and sell the project at market rate, despite the fact that the developer takes no financial risk. It?’s the old ?“Fox in the Hen House?”.