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Letter to the editor

Developer seeks alternatives to renting homes

Harry Hedges hopes various programs will help sell some homes.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL, Times Staff Writer
Published November 9, 2007

Temple Terrace 

When Harry Hedges came before the City Council asking for permission to rent half of the homes in his Bella Terraza development, he didn't receive a sweeping vote of confidence. And now he's trying to come up with alternatives.

Along with the city manager, Kim Leinbach, Hedges is looking at several buyer's-aid programs the city could adopt, including down payment assistance programs.

"The hope is to get people into the homes," Hedges said in a previous interview. "I've worked a lot with workforce housing and with the market how it is now - it's going to be tough."

A month ago, council members expressed concern that amending his contract with the city, which required that the homes to be owner-occupied, would add to the growing number of transient residents.

Despite these sentiments, in a separate matter they approved a site plan for a new 120-unit apartment complex on Davis Road north of Navajo Avenue on Tuesday night.

Leinbach said the council's hands were tied.

"The property was already zoned for apartments by the county before we annexed it," he said.

Autumn Place, which was voluntarily annexed on May 1, will have only two- and three-bedroom units and a tot lot to attract more families than college students, owners told the council.

But Hedges originally proposed his project as a workforce housing development where people buying their first home could invest in Temple Terrace.

Now it seems that the city isn't the only one trying to hold him to that promise.

Residents of the development, on Temple Heights Road near 56th Street, were concerned that possible renters may not take as much pride in their temporary homes as a fellow homeowner would in their investment.

The council has yet to give Hedges an answer on his original request to rent but is expected to hear his alternative proposals before a decision is made.

"We're still working on it," Leinbach said.

Robbyn Mitchell can be reached at 813 269-5313 or rmitchell@sptimes.com.

"The hope is to get people into the homes. I've worked a lot with workforce housing and with the market how it is now - it's going to be tough."

Harry Hedges

[Last modified November 8, 2007, 07:24:19]