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January 12, 2000
Demand for subsidized housing declines, EDA officials sayStrong economy,demographics are causeBy KREMENA TODOROVA Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM - Demand for subsidized housing in New Ulm is on the downturn, city housing officials told the New Ulm Economic Development Authority on Tuesday. Waiting lists for city projects such as St. Michael's Apartments and the Broadway Haus have been shrinking during the past decade. The last two years saw an especially sharp decline, said city Housing Coordinator Colleen Ratcliff. Two units are vacant at St. Michael's, a 30-unit building on North State, with no applicants trying to move in, Ratcliff said. The waiting list for the Broadway Haus, a 40-unit senior housing facility, has only four names, while ten family units at scattered locations have a waiting list of six. Over the past decade, waiting lists for Broadway Haus and St. Michael's have at times reached 30 to 35 names. Lists for the higher-turnover family apartments have seen 10 to 15 names, Ratcliff said. While federal law reserves 75 percent of the subsidized apartments for people on extremely low income, only 58 percent of the local units falling under these provisions are rented to persons who qualify, Ratcliff also said. Only 112 units, out of a possible 124, are rented out to individuals or families who receive housing assistance. Officials attribute the softening of the subsidized market to the strong economy and demographic factors. According to Community Development Director David Schnobrich, rising wage scales have reduced the ranks of low-income earners and assistance eligibility lists. The number of people born during the Great Depression --173; who would typically move into senior housing at this time of life -- is small, compared to other age groups. Schnobrich says the downturn will be reversed around 2010, as baby boomers age. Other EDA officials stress that with health care and other services improving, people will remain in their homes until an older age. In addition, a new assisted-living project, Ridgeway on German, has impacted the market locally, by relieving demand from older seniors.
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