City officials said 174 new units of affordable housing are likely to be available for lease in Columbus by the end of 2026 after two projects were awarded federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC).

The awards are a significant development in the city’s efforts to expand affordable housing.

This calendar year, two proposed affordable housing projects— Thrive Alliance’s Haw Creek Meadows and TWG Development’s Flats on 14th— have made their way through the city government process but were contingent on being awarded 9 percent and 4 percent federal tax credits from the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA).

Director of Community Development Robin Hilber on Thursday confirmed both received the funding in a competitive process where different projects from around the state are evaluated based on a scoring system.

The chances of both projects being awarded were bolstered in part by funds contributed to Haw Creek Meadows by redevelopment and an incoming payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement between TWG and the city that helped scoring on the Flats on 14th project.

Haw Creek Meadows

The 9% award will help finance phase one of Haw Creek Meadows, expected to cost around $20.6 million. There were 37 applications for the 9% award with 16 developments being awarded, according to IHCDA.

Haw Creek Meadows is planned as a two-phased development to be a combination of workforce family housing and housing for seniors, located at the site of the former Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center at 2100 Midway St.

Housing Partnerships Inc., a non-profit that does business as Thrive Alliance, bought the 7.6-acre property for $1.5 million on March 22. The project will require demolition of the existing property on site to allow for the construction of a new four-story building.

Phase one will see 64 workforce family housing units with a child care component. Phase two, plans and financing for which will come later, would encompass 64 units for seniors 55 and older.

The workforce family housing portion will be reserved for those making 30%, 50% and 60% of area median income (AMI), Thrive Alliance officials said, made up of 20, 30 percent AMI units, 13, 50 percent AMI units and 31, 60 percent AMI units.

The child care facility would be open to both residents and non-residents and focused on children up to age. According to Kevin Johnson, executive director, Housing Partnerships Inc., HPI has a memorandum of understanding with Children’s Inc. to provide daycare services at the facility, which is expected to serve up to 58 children and have 10 employees. Hours of operation at the daycare would be 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Other plans for the development include a quarter-mile walking trail, a picnic area, a gazebo and a community garden. Johnson said they would also look to add a commercial space for something like a coffee shop “so the seniors would have a reason to come out of their units and break down social isolation.”

The project will likely be up for bids in the second quarter of 2025 and construction will start by the third quarter, Thrive Alliance officials have said previously. Build time is expected to take 15 to 18 months with leasing getting started in 2026 and reaching 100 percent occupancy in June of 2027.

HPI had asked and was granted a 10-year real property tax abatement on a $14.4 million investment into the property by city council members in July.

Members at the time also gave sign-off on a contribution the Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved for the project during a meeting on June 24. Redevelopment provided an amount not to exceed $4.65 million from the city’s central tax-increment-financing (TIF) district to help with funding and in HPI’s application for LIHTC.

Other funding sources include $2 million of Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI) funds, along with a $1.3 million IHCDA credit.

Flats on 14th

Flats on 14th, estimated to cost $29.1 million, will be located on three parcels on property previously owned by Columbus Pallet Corp. at 1520 14th St., across from Central Park Place.

Flats on 14th is one of just five developments to receive 4% LIHTC out of 18 applications, per IHCDA.

The four-story, 110-unit project, is planned to have 35 one-bedroom units, 50 two-bedroom units, and 25 three-bedroom units, all reserved for those making 60% of AMI. This means that one-bedrooms would be for those earning up $39,360, two-bedrooms for those earning up to $44,940 and three-bedrooms for those making up to $50,580, city officials said previously. The development would also have an onsite, licensed daycare center.

TWG does not plan to ask for TIF funding or tax abatement, according to city officials. The developer will own and manage the property for at least 15 years after construction and provide at least 40 years of affordable housing to the community.

In order to bolster TWG’s application to IHCDA for LIHTC and affordable and workforce state tax credits (AWHTC), the developer asked for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with the city where TWG will claim tax savings towards their total development costs.

City council members on July 16 approved a resolution supporting TWG’s plans for the development, but the actual PILOT agreement itself won’t be considered by council until early 2025. The developer had been waiting to see if the tax credits were awarded first.

If the PILOT agreement is approved, TWG will pay the city $33,000 during the first year, and that amount will increase 3% annually over the next 15 years.

The money TWG pays the city annually would be required to go into an affordable housing fund “to be used in the next 15 years on additional affordable housing,” Director of Community Development Robin Hilber said in July.

Flats on 14th isn’t the first affordable housing project to be planned at the 3.36-acre site.

In 2015, Ohio-based Jonesboro Investments Corp. had plans to build a three-story, 54-unit building for senior housing there.

Apartments in the senior housing complex would have been rented to those age 55 and older under income restrictions for affordable housing, but the tax credits were not ultimately awarded from the IHCDA.

In 2020, Jonesboro, along with HPI, tried another time to get the senior, affordable housing facility off the ground. But again, the tax credits were not awarded.

Jonesboro was responsible for the Gateway Apartments on the former Golden Foundry site, built in 2016 and managed by Thrive Alliance.

Jonesboro representatives said in 2015 it took three separate tries to receive tax credits to build Gateway.
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