With all due respect, it's old news as of last June 20.

Minvilla's cost hasn't moved since the beginning of last November, a little more than a month before we compared its costs favorably with other historic/affordable housing developments.

Robert Finley
Ten-Year Plan
215-3071
http://tenyearplan.org

Blogged about the WATE story: http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/granju/2009/03/if-you-are-irritated-by-tho...

123 grand per 450 sq. ft. unit for this type of housing project is insane. If it compares favorably to other projects of a similar nature, then those communities were insane too.

Ms. Weatherstone implied in her response to WATE that NO DEVELOPER was interested in purchasing and developing the Minvilla. NOT TRUE.

Needless to say developers were not lining up in large numbers to purchase the Minvilla, but one or two did express an interest in the property. The real problem we had in selling the property to a private developer was due to the fact that it was surrounded (at that time) with the following:

South East Corner (across from Minvilla): Occupied by a halfway house for prisoners being paroled back into the community.

Next Door to Minvilla (South): Salvation Army building and thrift store.

Across the street (North); An Adult Book store (formerly a bank, until the depositors became frightened while conducting business at the bank due to panhandlers and daytime drunks.)

Adjacent to the porn store was VMC's building....another interesting deal made between the county and VMC.

Considering the fact Minvilla was situated right dead in the middle of this "ring of charities" who did Ms. Weatherstone think would be willing to purchase and develop the property?

Of course with the housing crisis and the resulting deflation, alternatives for a housing first initiative are even cheaper.
Oh well.