I am trying to figure out what is going on with the OECD and the Newbury commons project. First of all, i thought the city was trying to reduce low income and section 8 housing, not increase it. Secondly, why do we need an outside firm involved at all? and finally, wouldnt this just make the OECD into slumlords? I see houses for sale all around town in the low twenty thousand to upper thirty thousand dollar range, why cant the "working poor" buy one of these and fix it up with help from the city, instead of renting from the OECD for 15 years? Wouldnt this same money go much further, and do more to improve Bradfords wide spread blight problem than a few houses in a model neighborhood? Something smells fishy. This has cost overrun or the developer pulling out written all over it. How far does the rest of Bradford have to deteriorate before we quit funding these pet projects? I have a really crazy idea, lets ask the taxpayers what they think.

How 'bout it? "Build it and they will come" comes to mind!

And how about them making the subsidized housing look so nice and inviting? Why not let it get run down and make it look more like bland prison cells rather than luxury apartments? So as to make the residents want to live better, get a job, and possibly buy their own place, and move out of welfare housing, rather than attract even more "reliefers"!

"The projects" are much nicer than the slumlord dwellings all over town .... who wouldn't want to live there ..... FOR LIFE?

A private developer is proposing building and owning the development, not the OECD or City of Bradford.

Glad to hear that its a private development. I hope that also means its not low income housing.

More cheap subsidized housing = more scummers = the circles around the drain get tighter and faster.

Unfortunately low-income housing is one of the liberal policies forced on the tax paying population of this country. Low income housing is government subsidized and very government regulated. I'm all for a helping hand to those in need but sometimes it goes way to far.

I attended the COG meeting last night and this subject was brought up: "NewBury Commons". In my opinon, there is a lot more to this subject. I was told they are a nonprofit organization and are not required to pay property taxes. But they might offer some type of payment called in lieu of taxes. And yes, they are for low income families or working poor. The statement "If you build it, they will come" is partly correct. It should be "If you build it, more will come". The City of Bradford should get out of the real estate business and start rebuilding this town by concentrating on bringing some good paying jobs to Bradford. Then the housing problem will fix itself.

I couldnt agree more landlord, Bradfords leaders need to step back, take a good look at where the real problems lay, and make those problems top priority...

That sucks. After the mayor said it was a private development, I was sure that the Rockefellers were going to move here.

It looks like city officials are going on a couple of "field trips", one to see another development by this outfit, and one to visit a "biomag" sewage treatment plant. I still dont see how anyone but the developer benefits from this project. I cant see any angle where city residents or city coffers gain from this that couldnt be achieved by the city alone...

Landlord wrote; "I was told they are a nonprofit organization and are not required to pay property taxes. But they might offer some type of payment called in lieu of taxes." What percentage of Bradfords property is tax free today? and how much of it is owned by the city or its entitys? This outfit might offer something "in lieu of taxes"?? Fix up and sell run down houses to the "working poor" and there will be no question of taxes being paid, without some outsiders coming in to profit from us. I see plenty of slumlords, and even some prominent people around towns name in the paper "in lieu of taxes"....

Is the property previously low-income?