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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 Housing Holiday Open House Friday, December 1st 9am-5pm Saturday, December 2nd 10am-1pm Drawings & Refreshments Florence in Bloom 1234 Rhododendron Drive Florence, OR from 1A Along with tourism, Florence was now a retirement community, and in 2004, the moniker paid off. In 2004, the City of Florence was awarded the “Best Place to Retire” from Frommer’s Travel Guide. The ranking made national news, including publication of the list in the online version of USA Today. Retirees came to the town in droves. “I think this town is still touted as an excellent retirement commu- nity, and it is,” Nivilinszky said. “I came here from Chicago. Just the very word Oregon wouldn’t even roll off my tongue. What the heck is in Oregon? But my wife grew up here. And I just knew that’s where I wanted to be. There are a lot of different coastal towns, but Florence seems to have more of a charm. The pace of the town is very relaxed, and you think ‘Wow, I could get used to this.’ It’s still an excellent retirement communi- ty, and that’s what I see. A lot of retirees.” People came for various rea- sons. Some came here to actually retire, but others came just to flip homes. What better investment than the best place to retire? Looking to supplement their income, retirees began building and buying properties left and right. “They thought, ‘Oh, this is quick and fast money,’” Nivilinszky said. “Buy it for a year and make $20,000. That was the mindset back in 2007.” The biggest construction came in single-family homes for the retirees, but the City of Florence also began building infrastructure, including plans for the Pacific View Business Park. “I have a long list of projects that were completed and the city was growing and expanding,” Reynolds said. “We added a lot of housing units. We added all the condos, multiple duplexes and quads. We had the Habitat for Humanity project. The Northwood Apartments were built. The city was just seeing the importance for workforce housing.” Investors bet on Florence, except the market wasn’t as healthy as they thought. At the time, nobody knew about sub- prime mortgages, false AAA-rated bonds and a lack of government oversight on the shadow banking system. “When they overextended themselves back in 2008, they were borrowing from Peter to pay Paul to get that next project going because everything was going very fast,” Nivilinszky said. “And then it all imploded.” “These goals were not followed through” When the housing bubble burst in 2008, it laid waste to the hous- ing market and economy, plunging the U.S. into one of the worst eco- nomic crises the world had ever seen. “People got stuck with proper- ties that quickly depreciated. They paid $230,000 in the mid-2000s and the prices dropped to $180,000 after the crash,” Nivilinszky said. The booming construction Eugene Foot and Ankle Health Center MAKE Podiatric Physicians & Surgeons From routine checkups to treatments for surgery, Eugene Foot and Ankle Health Center is equipped to handle all your podiatric needs. WORK FOR YOU! The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce would like to invite you to enjoy a delicious lunch and learn about how to make social media work for your business. Carol Shaw & Gabriel Sechrist from KEZI-TV and Jolene Medeiros of Florence Tech Solutions (FTS) will help you distinguish a twit from a tweet and teach you how to amplify all of your business and marketing efforts. Join us December 14 at the Best Wester Pier Point Inn. Lunch is available for $14. Achilles Tendon Ankle Instability Ankle Sprains Arthritic Foot & Ankle Care Athletes Foot Bunions Calluses Corns Crush Injuries Diabetic Foot Comprehensive Rearfoot and Reconstructive Surgery Flat Feet Fungus Toenails Foot and Ankle Fractures. Hammertoes Heel Spurs Ingrown Toenails Injuries Neuromas Plantar Fasciitis Sports Medicine Trauma Warts To help you understand your options, we've included descriptions of some of our leading services on our website. www.eugenefootandankle.com Florenoe 4480 Highway 101 Building G Mon/Tues (541) 997-2319 BJ’s Eugene 1680 Chambers St. (541) 683-3351 Christmas Trees industry also took a major hit, which drained the local economy. Dana Rodet, owner of Rodet Construction Co., Inc., saw this first hand. “Back when the economy went south, a lot of guys left,” Rodet said. “There were a lot of contrac- tors who were building new homes and, when the new home market went south, some of them tried to get into remodel or repair. There just wasn’t enough of that going around either. Some of us managed to stay busy and some didn’t. Some just left town. They couldn’t do anything.” As people left and home prices depreciated, the City of Florence ran into financial hardships. With low-valued homes and high-wage jobs disappearing, taxes tanked. “With the recession hitting the country and local economy, the City of Florence began to take a much harder look at its finances beginning in 2009,” Reynolds’ report read. “These tough conver- sations led to a reduction in work- force in the years following 2009. Although the City Council set goals for economic development initiatives, these goals were not followed through with resources for adoption due to the city plac- ing a high priority on building its financial reserves.” About the period, Reynolds said, “You cannot stress enough that in 2008 we had a major finan- cial market bust that was primari- ly related to housing and mort- gages. And we were definitely not immune to it. We as a city had to be good stewards of the money we had during that time as well.” Many of the city’s development projects fell through. For example, a planned development on a 17- acre lot on Highway 101 was planned that would have provided scores of rental units to the area. But after the crash, the company went bankrupt. Rumors spread about its demise, with residents thinking it, along with other big projects, were stopped because the city wanted to halt growth and keep the “small town feel” Florence had cultivated. Reynolds said that couldn’t be further from the truth. “There’s sometimes the feeling that the city made it so the com- munity won’t grow,” she said. “The issue is so much broader than putting a kibosh on projects or not allowing it to happen. There were many things in the works that just ended up not working financially for people due to the 9 A bust. I could see that the rumors started to spin.” While projects like the Pacific View Business Park were com- pleted, many others were not. Growth came to a standstill. However, depending on one’s point of view, there was a silver lining to all of the city’s troubles. Because of the crash, living in Florence suddenly became afford- able for low-income earners. “The homeowners said, ‘Well, crud, I’ve got to hang on to the home until we recover,’” Nivilinszky said. “I’m just going to rent it.’ And so, it flooded the market with all of these rentals.” This is how the young families who work at seasonal stores and businesses were able to survive in Florence. “It takes a middle-income com- munity to support the retirement community,” Nivilinszky said. “It does. There’s just no way around it. If we’re not doing things to pro- vide for the mid-income services, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. Retirees aren’t looking for jobs. They’re already situated.” Because of the overabundance of rentals and the low rents that accompanied them, these low- wage workers were able to live in Florence and help bolster the tourist economy. But that doesn’t mean there was equilibrium between the low- income workers and the retirees. The retirees were losing money. “The money they were getting in rent was not even paying the mortgage,” Nivilinszky said. “And they would be subsidizing every month for that mortgage payment because rents just did not cover the mortgage — because they bought at the peak.” In the eight years prior to the current rental crisis, Nivilinszky only raised rents three times for three different properties. “I’ve kept rents flat, or lowered rents to keep tenants,” Nivilinszky said. “I saw signs in the market that said, ‘If we have someone capable and taking care of the property, I would rather make it affordable for them so they can stay, than keep nickel and diming them and make them want to leave.’ While the tenants weren’t get- ting “nickeled and dimed,” the homeowners were. That is, until the economy recovered. This is when Florence’s current housing crisis began. See HOUSING 10A Fresh Cut Christmas Trees have arrived! (while supplies last) Lunch & Learn Happy Holidays from Bj’s Christmas Trees 29th & Hwy. 101 ENTER YOUR PET NOW! Until December 4th Siuslaw News 148 Maple • P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 We’re looking for the cutest critters to compete in our photo contest! Pet Photo Contest Mail-In Entry Form Take a Shot at Our Petacular Grand Prize: Your Name: _________________________________ The Winning pet will be the “Cover Pet” in our Winter special section, Pet’s Name: _________________________________ the Ultimate Pet Guide Phone: ____________________________________ Pet’s Breed: ____________________Age:________ Email: ____________________________________ PLUS will win: __Check Enclosed Make Check Payable to: The Siuslaw News A PET’S WAG BAG __V/MC/D#_______________________________ * Prize may not include items from contest sponsors * Pets that have won in the past are not eligible to win. exp.____________ PLEASE NOTE, IF YOU WISH TO HAVE YOUR PHOTO RETURNED, PLEASE INCLUDE A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE WITH YOUR ENTRY. Contest sponsored by these businesses: Here’s the Scoop on How to Enter… 1. Email your photo to klibby@thesiuslawnews.com. There is a $5 processing fee, we will call you for payment. 2. The most photogenic pet will be selected by our panel of judges. 3. All pets and the grand prize winner will be featured in the December 6th issue. 4. You may also enter by mail. Simply fi ll out this contest form, and send it and payment along with a labeled photo of your pet to: Booking Appointments for the Holiday Season! 1751 12th Street, Florence Open Tuesday -Friday , 9am-5pm Next to Papa Murphy’s 541-997-2726 (541) 902-7622 4456 Hwy. 101 • Florence, OR 97439 35 years experience
