In a recent KCBJ article the Cordish Company touts the high occupancy of its second, highly subsidized luxury apartment building. With such strong demand why does City Hall continue to spend millions in taxpayer dollars to subsidize luxury living all in the same zip code? There is still no comprehensive policy for affordable housing.
Following is an excerpted version of the article.
Two Light, the luxury apartment complex developed by The Cordish Cos. in downtown Kansas City, has reached 96 percent occupancy just ahead of hitting its one-year mark.Hitting such a milestone shows good things to come, according to Nick Benjamin, executive director of the Kansas City Power & Light District and managing director of multifamily development for Cordish.He said in an interview with the Kansas City Business Journal that normally it takes an average of 18 to 24 months for a new complex to stabilize but given the success of One Light — the company's first luxury high-rise in Downtown, which is currently 97 percent leased — they had high expectations for Two Light. ...Chief among the incentives approved for Three Light is a $17.5 million subsidy the city has agreed to pay for a parking garage for Three Light — as it did for One Light and Two Light.