Monday, April 7

Brainard Landings construction
to start soon

[APRIL 7, 2003]  Construction will begin soon on the five buildings of Phase I of the Brainard Landings Apartments on State Street just south of 21st Street, according to a member of the Indianapolis firm of Pedcor Investments.

"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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