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"We are still working out some final
contracts, but work will begin any week now," said Kitty Campbell,
vice president of development for Pedcor.
Les Last, Lincoln city code enforcement
officer, said his office had received a $20,100 check to cover the
cost of building permits and sewer tap fees from Pedcor, and as far
as the city is concerned work can start any time.
Phase I of the affordable housing
development, a $4.7 million project, will consist of 56 apartment
units and a 2,943-square-foot clubhouse, Campbell said. The
apartments will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units and will
house one- to six-member families.
To qualify for an apartment in Brainard
Landings, a tenant will have to have a job, earn a certain amount of
money and have good credit, she said, and will not be able to earn
more than a set amount. For example, an individual can earn up to
$23,760, a family of three may earn up to $30,540, and a family of
six may earn up to $39,400 to qualify.
Rent for a one-bedroom apartment will
run from $350 to $395; for a two-bedroom, $445 to $450; and for a
three-bedroom, $500 to $505, she said.
Each apartment unit will have a
washer-dryer hookup, private storage, balcony-patio, vertical and
mini blinds, central air conditioning, central heating, wall-to-wall
carpet, a stove with a self-cleaning oven, a dishwasher, a disposal,
and a refrigerator.
The clubhouse will have a large
clubroom with kitchen, fitness facilities, a computer-business
center, a playground and an on-site laundry facility. It will also
have offices for a manager and a leasing agent.
The Brainard Landings development is
not a federal Housing and Urban Development project, Campbell said,
but investors will obtain federal tax credits under the Internal
Revenue Service Section 42 tax credit code as part of the overall
project financing.
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"Pedcor's plan is to develop a
community geared toward the working middle-class renters who would
benefit from a market-rate quality apartment community offered at a
price currently unavailable in this area," Campbell said. "Another
asset to our development is our partnership with Jane Poertner and
the Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation to provide
access to non-tangible amenities through services and programs
facilitated by CIEDC."
Although the Pedcor development is in
an enterprise zone and will not pay state sales taxes on materials
purchased in the city, the company will pay local property taxes.
Pedcor owns and operates over 7,000
rental units throughout the Midwest, Campbell said. The company
approached the city of Lincoln about three years ago to get approval
for building the apartment complex. Campbell said Lincoln officials
visited a Pedcor property in Crawfordsville, Ind., and were
favorably impressed with the development.
Pedcor not only builds the units but
also manages them, and the company does not turn the management over
to an outside firm. "It is Pedcor's belief that management of an
apartment community is one of the most important factors in its
ongoing success," Campbell said.
She said
Pedcor chose Lincoln as a site for a housing development after
studying the community and its demographics. In spite of the present
high unemployment rate in Logan County, she believes the firm will
have no trouble leasing the 56 apartment units to be built in Phase
I. No date has been set for construction of Phase II, which will
consist of 48 units.
[Joan Crabb]
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