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Show The Salt Lake Tribune State a Advertising supplement produced by Newspaper Agency Corp. Sunday, January 14. 1996 Theissueof affordable housing is purely in the eye of the beholder Recently, I found myself discussing a variety of subjects: home building, growth in the Salt Lake Valley, the 2002 Winter Olympics, gridlock, and affordable housing. I got stuck on the subject of affordable housing. I knowthat the term “affordable housing” takes on different meanings to different people, and that it is an emotional trigger, a charged phrase. Mywife and are currently building a new home. Althoughit is our dream home we are making every effort to keepit affordable — for us. Our contractor gets several bids in each area of construction and we compare the bids to the budget. If we are over budget in one area, we cut back in another. What is affordablefor us, however, is likely different from what might be affordable to others And, evenif it is affordable for others, their priorities might be such that they would neverbuild such a home So what does affordable mean? Location, lot size, choice of building materials and number of rooms arejust a fewofthe things that fit into the affordability equation. The equation is complicated by “wants” that differ drastically from “needs.” Here are someadditional considerations @ Is the homea starter home? @ Is it a home in which to raise a family? ® Does it need to be convenient to town and work, oris it more important to be in a neighborhood with the best schools? Mywife and I grewupin the Avenuesin Salt Lake € 7) | | | ae by Spencer Greer eo times referred to as “low cost housing” or “housing for the poor.” This is what makes the subject so emotional. It affects our pocketbook and maybe even our neighborhood The reasonforthis long essay andthe diversion trip of my home-building experienceis becauseI'minterested in youropinions. I have four questions that I wouldlike to hear from you on the subject. Theyare 1) What price range do you considerfor affordable housing? 2) What dollar range do you consideraffordable housing for yourfamily? 3) Should houses be grouped in areas byprice range, or should several price ranges be available in you neighborhood? 4) Would you want low-cost affordable housing in your neighborhood? As westart 1996, the prospect for low mortgageinterest rates is promising. The mortgage interest rate is oneof the most important factors in affordable housing Approximately 3 percent to 5 percent of the cost of a newly constructed home goes to permits, fees and licenses. Forty-four percent of the new home cost is moved out to Hollada for labor, and 52 percent is for starter home. Ourstarter home materials. Once these costs come cost $25,000 (way back then) and together for a new house, the horepresented about four times my mebuyertakes on the cost of the annual income. Four orfive times mortgage. It is obvious that as yourgross income is still probahomemortgages decrease, home bly a pretty good rule of thumb mortgages becomeeasier to hanfor affordability of housing. dle for morefamilies In order to have horses on our Mortgageinterest is important property we needed to movefarin home building considerations. thersouth. This was fine for the For example, at 7 percent, a perhorses, but quite far from myofson with a mortgage of $100,000 fice in downtown Salt Lake City will pay back $240,000 overa 30The house weare currently year period, almost twoandhalf building is even farther south — times the amount borrowed. At 103rd South to be exact. This 6.5 percent the borrowerwill pay time our homeis adjacent to the back $228.000, a savings of equestrian park in Sandy. We've 12.000 had to movefarther and farther Please send responses to the south in orderto find affordable above questions or any com Space to accommodateour hobby ments about the home building — horseback riding, all of which industry to Spencer B. Greer, Hostill begs the question: What is mebuilders Association of Greataffordable housing? er Salt Lake, 296 EF. 3900 South Affordable housing is many Salt Lake City, Utah 84107. All eyeswill be on Kearns when it plays hostto the s; peed-skating events in the 2002 ly completed Oquirrh Park Olympi ic Speed Skating Oval was Officially dedicated Jan, Winter Olympics. The recent12 Kearnsfound niche in wake of WW II While President Clinton Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich continue to bicker and banter about the necry components of a balanced budget. Utah's elder statesmen can take heart. They knowit hasn't always taken Uncle Sam so long to turn a decision into action They remember Kearns Army Air Base — life af. ter Pearl Harborbut before subdivisions. If the government could display the same swiftness it so aptly demonstrated some 54 years ago — transforming a veritable wastelandinto one of the \rmy’s finest training fa cilities — federal employ ces could fearlessly get back to the business at hand But, lest we regress, the subject here is Kearns, not balancing the budget It may be surprising to learn that in the same yearcitizens are celebrat- OLYMpic SKATING oy ing Utah's 100th year of statehood, Kearns — lo cated primarily between 4000 West and 5600 West 4700 South and 7000 South — isn't even half way to its centennial bash Compounding this curios ity is the fact that most of its neighboring towns and communities were estab: lished well before $394,900 Despiteits slow start however, Kearns has evolved into a pleasant residential community It’s low crime (only five bur glaries per 1,000 people) quality schools, excellent recreational programs and involved neighborhoods commemorates the Kearns Army Air Base,a vital link to training troops during World War are beginning to turn heads aroundthe Salt Lake Valley And, as if that weren't enough. Kearns will se cure its rightful place in history when the world’s 4 the Winter Games mounts But first Prior to 1942. Address/Coordinates Features Realtor R the land had been rel ed to dry-farming, an un predictable. often futile form of harvesting crops Upon inspection. Col Thomas determined the region, located far enough oa. 472 Phone Sat.} Sun. A Price Location Address/Coordinates Features 4 Bedrooms’3 Baths Baths Baths ths when Col E.G. Thomas and his staff surveyed the uninhabited region that now occupies the Kearns community See KEARNS, page G6 Ve 8704 § Willow Green Cir (3040 E) 8967 $ Meibury Cir (1935 €) back to the war Kearns . @ Was namedafter U.S. Sen. Thomas Kearns, a strong proponent of the Army's decision to build an air base training camp in northern Utah during World WarIl. @ Army Air Base trained gunners of the 509th Composite Group, which carried out the orders to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima. @ Has increased in population by 300 percent since 1955. Next Week Harvard/Yale Area a Location only grow as anticipation 1896 \ cat. |sun.|aB%4] Price Utah made the nation’s grade in AR » fastest skaters come call ing for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The recently completed speed-skating oval, offiially dedicated Jan. 12 will be the venue for the Winter Games’ speed-skating events. The oval has already attracted its share of attention, which will WAT “Dads 9 Bele ¢)? Realtor Phone |
