A $7.1 million project to build 43 apartments is planned in the north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ neighborhood of the Ville, a sizeable project in an area of the city that has suffered from disinvestment and vacancy for years.
Northside Community Housing, a community development corporation focused on the Ville, is leading the project along with Rise Community Development. Its proposal calls for nine new buildings on land owned by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™ land bank and the rehab of three existing structures near the intersection of St. Ferdinand Avenue and North Sarah Street, including the old Star Laundry building.
It’s the second phase of housing development in the area just west of the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital (now apartments) and Sumner High School. Around 2008, Northside Community Housing built dozens of single-family homes in the area. This phase, expected to break ground in September and take about a year, will be multi-family and include community space in the Star Laundry building that will be used for financial education classes and other programs.
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Once the cultural hub of the black community in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ before its population declined, the Ville still has a “huge need†for affordable housing, said Mona Majid, Northside’s community development coordinator.
“The Ville as a whole has had some struggles and challenges, but this area that we’ve been developing has remained strong,†she said. “There’s very low vacancy in the homes we’ve constructed. I think we’ve done a lot to strengthen the immediate area.â€
After years of applying for tax credits to help finance the project, the Missouri Housing Development Commission finally approved state Low Income Housing Tax Credits for the project in December. Combined with federal low income tax credits, the credits should yield about $7.8 million in financing for the project, according to commission materials. Total project costs were estimated at about $9.5 million, according to MHDC materials.
On Tuesday, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™ Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority recommended 15 years of property tax abatement for the project. (Even though nonprofit organizations may spearhead projects, low-income housing tax credit projects use the credits to draw private investors and companies are structured as for-profit partnerships.)
“It’s good to see some activity there,†LCRA Chairman Chris Goodson said.
Majid said there’s some growing historic preservation interest in the area, with a group hosting tours of the neighborhood. The and planned a couple of miles to the east could help provide some momentum from that direction. A few blocks north, the city .
For now, Northside Community Housing is focused on constructing new houses saving the buildings it can along North Sarah Street and St. Ferdinand Avenue.
“The North Sarah area has risen up to meet us in a sort of way,†Majid said. “I almost see it as kind of completing that corridor of North Sarah.â€
