MARTA announces big developments at Brookhaven, Chamblee stations (Atlanta, Clayton: sales tax, station)

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

I just happened to remember you rented here. And rented now. I have a weird memory. You brought it up before.

That said, when you start shelling out nearly $1,000/mth in a property tax I hope you gain some perspective from the owners point of view.

That is correct, though I'm currently starting the process of buying a place of my own. Granted renters aren't going to have the permanency of homeowners (and I agree the latter obviously have a bigger stake in the game and should get some sort of prefrerence in a conversation), but many of them still care about the area. Had I not had to move for financial reasons, I'd probably would still be living in Brookhaven.

I've already said it should be green space. Brookhaven should rent the land from MARTA indefinitely.

I don't see an issue with having some public greenspace there as part of a development, but to have that entire parcel become a park would not be the highest and best use of the land, and would likely end up being a net-negative for the city's finances if they were to lease the land from MARTA for that purpose. Middle-density development is going to continue to flood into Brookhaven (as evidenced with the explosion along Dresden), it may as well be located in its most transit-accessible node. How that actually gets laid out remains to be seen, I guess.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

I just happened to remember you rented here. And rented now. I have a weird memory. You brought it up before.

That said, when you start shelling out nearly $1,000/mth in a property tax I hope you gain some perspective from the owners point of view.

I've already said it should be green space. Brookhaven should rent the land from MARTA indefinitely.

Sure, if Brookhaven wants to enter into a long term lease for the property and pay market rate; I see no issue. The idea of the TOD is for MARTA to gain revenue, that can be leveraged for bonds, via entering into a long term lease with a developer for the property. The icing on the cake is that development would encourage more riders.

[whodean]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

I just happened to remember you rented here. And rented now. I have a weird memory. You brought it up before.

That said, when you start shelling out nearly $1,000/mth in a property tax I hope you gain some perspective from the owners point of view.

I've already said it should be green space. Brookhaven should rent the land from MARTA indefinitely.

You didn't believe that renters pay for property taxes through their rent payments(along with all other expenses of the apartment owners)?. Short sighted.

That said, I am a former Brookhaven home owner. I moved away due to DeKalb County's failures, not the city's.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by whodean

You didn't believe that renters pay for property taxes through their rent payments(along with all other expenses of the apartment owners)?. Short sighted.

That said, I am a former Brookhaven home owner. I moved away due to DeKalb County's failures, not the city's.

Yep, renters are definitely paying property taxes. It may not seem as dramatic because they are not suddenly getting zapped with one bill demanding $10-20,000 but it is built into their rent.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

That said, when you start shelling out nearly $1,000/mth in a property tax I hope you gain some perspective from the owners point of view.

If you don't think landlords pass along the cost of paying property taxes to their tenants, you must be incredibly naïve. They're paying proportionally more, too, because you're probably getting a homestead exemption.

At any rate, if you're paying $1,000/month in property taxes, you are loaded and don't really have much of anything to complain about.

[bu2]

This is Houston, not Atlanta, so I didn't want to do a new thread. But for those of you who think streetcar style light rail is safe and HRT isn't and for those of you who think cars provide the only danger to cyclists-two cyclists were killed in a week by trains in Houston, adding to 4 fatalities along the Red Line:

Second Cyclists in Three Days Struck, Killed by Metro Light Rail Train | Houston Press

[ATL Golfer]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Sure, if Brookhaven wants to enter into a long term lease for the property and pay market rate; I see no issue. The idea of the TOD is for MARTA to gain revenue, that can be leveraged for bonds, via entering into a long term lease with a developer for the property. The icing on the cake is that development would encourage more riders.

Don't forget the huge new taxable base for the city/county. But wait, that is why these talks failed. They want a tax abatement and as I understand it. So not only do they want to negatively disrupt life here in a significant way, they don't want to pay their fair share. Brilliant!! (next everyone will tell me that comment is short sided because of all the sales tax revenue and positive economic impact that the development will bring).

Yea, I get that taxes are part of the developers expenses and are covered through the developers income. The rent also covers the developers boat ownership costs at lake lanier....do renters get to lay claim to that as well?

That said, the real point is, what is the avg lease duration for one of those apartments? The renters have no vested interest. They put no equity down in securing their residence. Most in these new apartments won't be around for more than a year or two. Their vested interest pails in comparison to owners.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by bu2

This is Houston, not Atlanta, so I didn't want to do a new thread. But for those of you who think streetcar style light rail is safe and HRT isn't

Whoever said HRT isn't safe?

and for those of you who think cars provide the only danger to cyclists-two cyclists were killed in a week by trains in Houston, adding to 4 fatalities along the Red Line:

Second Cyclists in Three Days Struck, Killed by Metro Light Rail Train | Houston Press

Well, let's see, in the first incident, the guy was riding illegally, in the second, there's not much detail, but very rarely do trains ever jump off their tracks and run anyone down. It's pretty safe to say the walker (pedestrian implies they were in the right) was doing something wrong.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

That said, the real point is, what is the avg lease duration for one of those apartments? The renters have no vested interest. They put no equity down in securing their residence. Most in these new apartments won't be around for more than a year or two. Their vested interest pails in comparison to owners.

Well, you have a point.

[cqholt]

Restricting housing construction does not just hurt developers—it makes housing less affordable for everyone

Neighborhood resistance isn’t just triggered by residents trying to prop up their home values—it’s the product of policies that incentivize homeownership and a regulatory system that encourages opposition.

https://www.citylab.com/housing/2017...bility/517320/