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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 Affordable housing group buys former Waldorf Hotel Searching for tax credits to finance project By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Innovative Housing Inc. has purchased the former Waldorf Hotel downtown from trucking and demolition company Groat Brothers Inc. for $80,000. The affordable housing developer had provided ear- nest money to buy the dilap- idated former hotel, also known as the Merwyn, where it wants to create 40 units of workforce housing. But the group had to wait for docu- ments from the state Depart- ment of Environmental Qual- ity detailing the needed cleanup of soil under the building contaminated with oil, said Julie Garver, the group’s director of housing development. The group pur- chased the building under the company name Innovative Merwyn. Groat Brothers had previ- ously sought to demolish the building and sell the prop- The Daily Astorian Affordable housing developer Innovative Housing recent- ly purchased the former Waldorf Hotel next to City Hall from Groat Brothers Inc. erty to the city, which was considering an expansion of the Astoria Library next door. After a public outcry, the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission voted against demolition. Innovative Housing was recently rejected for highly competitive 9 percent low-in- come housing tax credits administered by the state that would have paid for much of the building’s restoration, estimated at $6 million. The group is now work- ing with Gov. Kate Brown’s regional solutions team on how to make a more attrac- tive application this month for state funds from the Local Innovation and Fast Track Housing Program to couple with noncompetitive 4 per- cent tax credits, or, if that fails, another application for the more lucrative 9 percent credits next year, Garver said. “It’s one more step in the process,” she said. “Afford- able housing financing always takes longer than you think it should.” Mark Ellsworth, the North Coast coordinator with the regional solutions team, said the state is planning a meet- ing with Innovative Housing and a tour of the project next month, trying to establish it as a high priority in Salem. “If we prioritize this, I trust that will help them,” he said. The Northwest Ore- gon Housing Authority was awarded $12 million in state and federal low-income hous- ing tax credits in 2016 to help pay for the recently completed rehabilitation of 52 units at the Alder Court, Wapiti and Canim apartment complexes in Warrenton. The housing authority will apply for the same fast-track funds as Inno- vative Housing to help pay for building more than 50 units of new affordable housing in Tillamook, said Todd John- ston, the authority’s executive director. “It’s a great funding source because it brings the private market into the affordable housing market,” Garver said of tax credits. “It creates bet- ter-quality affordable hous- ing. Because of the public-pri- vate partnership, the private partner monitors the property for 15 years. That takes a lot of pressure off of the govern- ment’s shoulders to do that.” Innovative Housing’s College board approves buying MERTS campus Twenty-two acres of land at Tongue Point denial for the 9 percent tax credits came after the state determined there was not enough of an affordable hous- ing crisis in Astoria, which has faced rapidly rising rents and gentrification. The former Waldorf Hotel is located in a census tract not considered low-income. Garver and Ellsworth both pointed to a fierce state- wide competition among many projects for insufficient affordable housing funds as Consult a PROFESSIONAL have received a notice from CareO- Q: I regon that my Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan will not be offered in 2019 and I am being cancelled. Is there another similar plan in Clatsop County? A: Unfortunately there is not going to be a Dual SNP Plan offered Medicare Products in Clatsop County. You will still have the benefits 503-440-1076 through Original Medicare and Medicaid that you are Licensed in Oregon eligible for. Call me for and Washington additional information. Steve Putman putmanagency@gmail.com I start on Office Q: When document (Word, Excel, etc.) By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian LEO FINZI Astoria’s Best.com We stock 1000’s of parts, cables, accessories, etc. for phones, TVs, Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4 computers, and Astoria, OR tablets. 503-325-2300 Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian lege needs to raise at least an $8 million match by 2021 to secure the state bond money. The college had hoped to use the campus purchase as part of the match but found out it would not count, Zahn said. “We really can’t wait until 2021 to make this purchase,” she said. “It’s a Catch-22, because we need to own the property before we qualify for the” bonds. Consultant Catherine Crooker has been reaching out to potential large donors and gauging whether there is ade- quate support for a $14 million campaign. She is expected to provide her recommendation in January. The maritime workforce is dominated by baby boom- ers approaching retirement. Christopher Breitmeyer, the college president, has called the campaign an opportunity to help train people locally for high-paying, high-demand jobs and bring attention to a relatively hidden campus. With the only such pro- gram on the Oregon Coast, the college has been designated the state’s official maritime training center. The college was included in the federal Domestic Maritime Cen- ters of Excellence Act intro- duced in the U.S. House last year, potentially opening it to more federal support if the bill passes. The college had originally looked at adding a second story to its existing maritime sciences building. But archi- tectural firm SRG Partner- ship found it would be more cost-effective to build a new 8,700-square-foot academic hall on a larger pad supported by more than 1,000 stone piers digging 60 feet into the ground to prevent the building from moving during an earth- quake. Installing the piers is estimated at nearly $1.9 mil- lion. The total cost of the new maritime building is projected at around $20 million by 2021. The college board on Tues- day also approved spend- ing more than $50,000 for SRG to design the new build- ing and engineer it if the cap- ital campaign is success- ful. The company previously completed a master plan for the career-technical campus, along with designing the new Patriot and Columbia halls on the main campus. The Columbia Land Trust recently secured more than $1.3 million in grants to buy about 90 acres on the south side of Liberty Lane. The land would be restored into salmon and wildlife habitat under the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce. It would then be transferred to the college as a living laboratory to comple- ment a new environmental sci- ences program. The land trust’s purchase is expected to go before the state Land Board next year, Breit- meyer said. By CASSANDRA PROFITA Oregon Public Broadcasting A new study finds a contro- versial fossil fuel refinery pro- posed at Washington’s Port of Kalama would actually reduce global carbon emissions. The study was commis- sioned by the port and Cowlitz County in response to a per- mit requirement by the state of Washington to report the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project. A California-based com- pany called Life Cycle Associ- ates tallied all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the $1.8 billion methanol refin- ery proposed by developer NW Innovation Works. The plant would convert natural gas into methanol that would be shipped overseas and made into plastic. The study, part of a draft supplemental environmental impact statement for the proj- ect, included the carbon emis- sions from the plant’s con- struction and operation, its energy sources and shipping. It concluded that while the plant would generate carbon pollution, it would also dis- place dirtier methanol produc- tion overseas, resulting in a net reduction of global carbon emissions. Brett VandenHeuvel, with the environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper, said that conclusion is deeply flawed, and that the project will still be a major source of pollution in Washington. “They paid for a report and they got the answer they wanted but we don’t think it’s going to fool Washington state leaders,” he said. “It’s laugh- able that the world’s larg- est fracked gas refinery will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.” Columbia Riverkeeper challenged the project’s shore- line permit last year, and the Washington Shorelines Hear- ings Board responded by requiring additional informa- tion about the project’s green- house gas emissions before the permit could be approved. Vee Godley, chief develop- ment officer for NW Innova- tion Works, said his company plans on offsetting all of its pollution through a mitigation plan in addition to using the cleaner methods of producing methanol. “We’re looking forward to having a discussion about the best way to mitigate our impacts,” he said. “We want to see this money be utilized to support green initiatives in Washington.” If the state approves its final permit, he said, the com- pany plans to start construction next year. A public hearing on the draft supplemental environ- mental impact statement for the project is scheduled for Dec. 13 in Longview, Washington. I am presented with a long list of templates. I just want a new blank document. a new Microsoft A: Open Office document. Click on “File”, then “Options” (at the bottom of the list). Click “General” then scroll to the bottom of that window. Uncheck the box in front of “Show the Start screen when this application starts.” To go back to showing templates and recent documents when Microsoft Office start, click on that box again to restore the check mark. Q: How does sensitive The Clatsop Community College Board has approved buying nearly 22 acres the school leases for the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station. Study: Kalama plant would reduce carbon emissions Plant would turn natural gas into methanol 10TH STREET ASTORIA TRANSIT CENTER The Clatsop Community College Board on Tuesday approved purchasing nearly 22 acres at South Tongue Point it leases from the state for its career-technical cam- pus, the Marine and Environ- mental Research and Training Station. The college would pay $826,500 for the land, plus $10,000 in closing costs. The state Land Board will decide whether to approve the pur- chase at its Dec. 18 meeting. Four years ago, the college applied to purchase the land it has leased on Liberty Lane since the 1990s, when the career-technical campus was founded. The campus includes maritime science, automo- tive, welding and fire science programs. The college moors its training vessel, the Fore- runner, at a dock on a square plot of land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the end of Liberty Lane. “This is a very good invest- ment for the institution,” said JoAnn Zahn, the college’s vice president of finance and operations. The offset of what the remaining lease would cost the college takes more than $200,000 off the purchase price, she said. The college is paying for the land out of its plant fund, which is used for construction, renovation and acquisition of property. The impending purchase comes as the college is con- templating a $14 million capi- tal campaign to match $8 mil- lion worth of state bonds it has been promised and hopes to use on a new maritime sciences building. The col- the overlying issue. Part of establishing a need for the tax credits will be part- nering with local businesses and economic groups to help the state understand that much of the problem is workers commuting to Astoria because they can’t afford to live in the city, Garver said. “We’re persistent,” she said. “We keep marching along and going through the process, and we’re going to get it done.” toothpaste work? one of your teeth . It has A: Imagine two main sections: the crown above the gum line and the root below. JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR DMD, FAGD People with sensitive teeth experience pain when their teeth are exposed to something hot, cold or when pressure is applied. The layer of enamel may be thinner and the gum line may have receded, exposing more dentin. Therefore, the recession makes teeth more sensitive. 503/325-0310 1414 MARINE DRIVE, ASTORIA www.smileastoria.com Sensitive toothpaste works by blocking the tubules in the dentine usually contain a chemical called strontium chloride. Repeated use builds up a strong carrier by plugging the tubules more and more, leading to less-sensitive teeth. Q: Should I use heat or cold? you hurt,especially in A: If a joint, use ice; it reduces ASTORIA CHIROPRACTIC Barry Sears, D.C. 503-325-3311 2935 Marine Drive Astoria, Oregon inflammation and pain and shortens healing time. You can get a burn from ice just like with heat, so don’t leave it on for more than 20 minutes. Most problems get better more quickly with ice. Heat feels good, but may seriously make problems worse. As long as there is pain and/or swelling, continue ice; it can be done as often as once an hour. Would you heat a cut? No, because it would keep bleeding —that is what happens inside where you can’t see it. 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