Affordable housing succeeding in Centerville

Centerville (Salt Lake Tribune) » Doris Donat found herself divorced and out of her home. She wanted a place of her own but didn't know what she could afford.

Then she found Pineae Gardens in Centerville and a condo in her price range.

"I couldn't rent a place as beautiful as I'm in now," said Donat.

The occasion for Donat's remarks was a checkup on the affordable-housing project by Henry Cisneros, the former mayor of San Antonio and secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton.

Cisneros is now chairman of CityView, an investment fund that finances housing and other urban projects. Most of its money comes from pension funds of state and local government employees in California where the company is located.

Pineae Gardens, at the site of a former nursery at 675 N. Main St. in Centerville, is CityView's only investment in Utah. The development opened in June 2008, and still has empty lots waiting for buyers.

"The slowest selling to date have been the single-family detached," said Cisneros, of the Centerville project. "The condos and townhomes started well, and the townhomes have done best; those are entry-level folks who didn't have a house recently."

Kristen Nilssen, the copresident of developer and general contractor Gold Medallion Homes, said about 65 of the planned 227 housing units have been sold.

Original Article