A proposed apartment complex near the elementary school aims to provide more affordable housing options for families and senior citizens.
Developer GW Weld presented his plan for the 9.5 acres at 10th and Peach at Monday’s City Commission meeting.
The complex, called Pascal’s Landing, would be across from the elementary school and include about 40 units that would be affordable housing, with another 80 being market rate options.
The building would include a mix of two-bedroom/two-bathroom and three-bedroom/two bathroom units.
Weld is working with Dustin Baker of Alcove Development to apply for a tax credit program through the Kansas Housing Resource Corp. that would provide for the income-restricted units, he said.
“It’s a program that provides affordable housing for people that don’t make enough money to afford what market rate is, which is sadly, a greater portion of people than it’s ever been before that cannot afford what the market rate is,” Weld said.
For example, Weld said there would be several units that are targeted for people who make about $24,000 a year. The rent and utilities cost would be about $639. This is about half of the market rate, or what building costs dictate, but they would be able to do it because of this tax credit, he said.
There will be other units for people making around $24,000 to $48,000 per year.
Overall, the rent ranges for the affordable options will be $495 to $795 for two bedrooms and $595 to $950 for three bedrooms. For market value options, rent will be $1,100 to $1,300 for two bedrooms and $1,400 to $1,650 for three bedrooms.
“It’s probably not enough affordable units for Eudora but, you know, this is 36 families that can’t afford to live here today that have an opportunity to do so,” Weld said.
He will submit a full application to qualify for the tax credit program by May. Last year, the land for the proposed complex was annexed and rezoned to residential multifamily.
At the next commission meeting, Weld will have specific incentive requests for the city. He said they would likely request sales tax exemption, property tax abatement, other fees waived and a benefit district to help with the new sewer need.
Part of the application requires the city to be invested and committed to the project, he said. Weld also said property tax abatement conversations for De Soto apartments had been around 75% to 90%.
Weld also noted some challenges for the project, including a need for a new sewer connection that could cost over $1 million, competition with De Soto building 1,100 new units and interest rates making development difficult.
Commissioner Alex Curnes asked how developers would avoid a traffic issue similar to that on Church Street in front of the high school, especially since students may cross the street to get to the elementary school.
Weld said there would be traffic and engineering studies when the commission sees the final building plan.
Mayor Tim Reazin wanted to make sure this project tied in with the conversations seniors had about affordable options for them.
Weld said the units will not be age restricted and will be based on income. He said some will qualify for the market rate price since they have houses to sell, and some will qualify for the affordable options. He said this project seems like a solution for families and for seniors.
Reazin also said he had traffic and tax concerns. He agreed with Curnes and wondered how the project would allow for students crossing the street to the elementary school, and he also wondered how the property tax abatement would factor in with the school district and county.
Weld said the final development plan will address concerns with traffic and children crossing the street.
The city also approved a resolution that set city policies for those wanting to establish a special benefits district.
These districts are used by local governments to promote development and infrastructure improvements that will pay for themselves by allowing the costs for the improvements to be assessed to the properties directly benefiting from the improvements, according to the city’s website.
These districts can be created to help finance streets, water system projects, sanitary sewers, sidewalks and more.
The resolution updates the existing policy with more up-to-date references to other city statutes and changes the application deadline so they can be reviewed before the city adopts the budget, Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel said.
Originally, the city did not dedicate residential projects as a priority for establishing this kind of district. The new resolution takes this principle out, and allows for this to be used for residential projects, Daniel said.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
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