Developer seeks tax help for two big apartment projects

The public will have a chance to express their opinions during two hearings on March 26.

The Alexandria City Council scheduled the hearings Monday at the request of the Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission.

Unique Opportunities, LLC is proposing two affordable workforce housing projects, which the developer says hinge on whether they receive tax increment financing.

With this type of financing, property values are frozen at the current amount and the new higher taxes that would normally be paid once the property is redeveloped are diverted to help cover some of the costs.

The first project, an $11.4 million undertaking, is a 94-unit, 90,000-square-foot complex, "Woodland Heights" that would be built on vacant land near South McKay Avenue and Rosewood Lane.

The financing is estimated to generate $750,000 that contribute to the project's feasibility and cover the costs of building a new public road in the complex.

According to the developer, the apartments would only be available for low to moderate income families, those making 60 percent or less than the county's median income. For a household of four that amounts to $41,280.

Also, 20 percent of the apartments must have rents that do not exceed 50 percent of the county's annual median income. For a three-bedroom unit, that amounts to $895 or less.

Of the 94 units, one would be an efficiency, 21 would be one bedroom, 42 would be two bedrooms, 18 would be three bedrooms and 12 will be four bedrooms.

Unique Opportunities is also seeking tax increment financing for a 45,000-square-foot, 47-unit apartment complex, "Rosewood 2," in the same area, off the 1400 block of Rosewood Lane.

It's a $5 million project that would provide a mix of low-income and market-rate housing. At least 20 percent of the units would be available for low-income families.

In the tax application, the developer said it would help maintain a balanced supply of housing unit types at an affordable rate, $11 per square foot annually.

The tax assistance would generate about $500,000, which would primarily cover the costs of building a public road, which would add a connection point between Rosewood Lane and South McKay.

"This housing will provide much-needed homes to help Alexandria grow and fill the many available jobs in the area," the developer stated in the application.

The length of the tax increment financing was not included in either of the applications but will be discussed at the public hearing. State law allows housing projects to receive the assistance for up to 25 years.

The company hopes to start both projects this May and complete them by December 2019.

Based in Fergus Falls, Unique Opportunities is a partnership between Troy Johnson and Samuel Herzog that started in 2014 with a goal of developing affordable housing in outstate Minnesota.