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RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO SUPPORT THE REQUEST BY ONE ROOF COMMUNITY HOUSING, TO THE STATE OF MINNESOTA FOR THE AWARD OF LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS FOR THE DECKER DWELLINGS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
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CITY PROPOSAL:
RESOLVED, that the Duluth city council hereby expresses its support for the One Roof request for funding to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) for low-income housing tax credits for the Decker Dwellings development project.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Duluth city council hereby expresses support for the future provision of financing to fulfill a project gap of $318,000, through the use of tax abatement, tax-increment financing, or another means as determined by the city.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution expresses the city council’s support of an application to be submitted to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) by One Roof for low-income housing tax credits that may be awarded by MHFA for the proposed development of the Decker Dwellings project. The deadline for the submission of the application is June 15, 2017. The request is for an estimated $8,449,155 in housing tax credit financing. Total cost for the entire redevelopment project is estimated at $10,270,611. The developers claim 86 points on the “Self-Scoring Worksheet 2018 Housing Tax Credit Program”, which MHFA uses to select projects to be awarded credits. MHFA intends to finalize their funding decisions on October 19, 2017.
The Decker Dwellings development is a three-story, 40-unit apartment building with underground parking located off of Decker Road in Duluth, adjacent to the Schneiderman’s Furniture store near the Miller Hill Mall. This development will include 10 one-bedroom, 20-two-bedroom, and 10 three-bedroom apartments units. Half of the units will be allocated to households making 50% of the Area Median Income (“AMI”) ($23,550 for a 1-person household to $33,600 for a 4-person household), while the other half will be for households making 60% AMI ($28,260 for a 1-person household to a $40,320 for a 4-person household). Each allocation will contain a mixture of one, two, and three bedroom units. Four units will be reserved as permanent supportive housing units for homeless individuals with services provided by the Human Development Center and rental assistance in the form of Section 8 vouchers. This location is near employment areas (Matterhorn Mall, Miller Hill Mall, other retail operations and offices) and grocery stores. There is a bus stop within a quarter mile of the site.
MHFA requires applicants for housing projects in Duluth to receive the support of the city council, with the finding that the Decker Dwellings is a priority for the City of Duluth, and that it meets a locally identified housing need. A recent housing study for the City of Duluth has identified the need for more rental units for households earning $50,000/year or less, this need has also been confirmed with the city’s annual Housing Indicator Report.