(RECAP: Fredericksburg Square‘s owners have shelved various plans for their building at 525 Caroline St. over the years, but never gave up on the thought of making more productive use of their entire property. Now, as demand for owner-occupied housing downtown is on the rise, Van and Deborah Perroy want to tear down the three concrete-block apartment buildings they own behind Fredericksburg Square and replace them with a townhouse development. Riverwalk Square would include three brick town houses facing Sophia Street. The Perroys would also build four more townhouses, plus a five-tale multifamily brick building with seven units on what is now Fredericksburg Square’s 26-space parking lot.)

Powered by WPeMatico

(RECAP: A federal agency says the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority erred in awarding a legal contract to a firm that ranked lower than another and hasn’t spent some of its $1.4 million in reserves to pay for terribly needed Section 8 vouchers. HUD questioned to be paid back for any money spent on the legal contract so far, according to an April 27 letter obtained by WAVY-10, which reported on it Tuesday. The Pilot obtained copies of the letter from a city spokeswoman Wednesday. The agency visited the authority in mid-March and raised concerns that it had more than enough money to pay for Section 8 vouchers but noted some families had been on the waiting list for “a number of years although funding for help is and remains available.” HUD, in its letter, says it generally wants to see an authority have no more than 6 percent in reserves. Portsmouth’s authority will have 12.5 percent by the end of this year and 15.7 percent by the end of next year.)

Powered by WPeMatico

(RECAP: Federal Reserve policymakers chose in June that interest rate hikes should stay on hold until they have a handle on the consequences of Britain’s vote on EU membership, according to the minutes from the Fed’s June policy meeting released on Wednesday. Policymakers also cited a severe slowdown in hiring by U.S. employers as a reason for leaving interest rates steady last month, the minutes showed.)

Powered by WPeMatico