July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

$5.4 million OK'd for apartments


By Rachelle [email protected]

A planned low to moderate-income housing project in the city has been awarded a $5.4 million grant.

Katelynn Place, which is set to be built at 590 W. Lafayette St., will have 56 apartments.

City officials plan to have Lafayette Street extended west to Industrial Park Drive to accommodate the apartment complex, and to make way for other future developments. Construction on the apartment complex is expected to begin in about a month.

"It's another great opportunity for our city," Bruce Hosier, mayor of Portland, said this morning. An official with the office of Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said this morning that the funds will go directly to the developer, which is Keller Development Inc., Fort Wayne. Jay Kenworth, press secretary for the lieutenant governor, said the funds are expected to be awarded immediately, and do not need to be repaid. Skillman, who chairs the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, oversees the spending of stimulus funds in Indiana.

The apartment complex is expected to be built just west of Portland Place apartments. The housing complex also will be for disabled individuals and senior citizens. There will be several recreation options and onsite services, such as WorkOne job search workshops and independent living classes, according to a press release.

Construction likely will be completed sometime in the summer of 2010, an official with Keller said this morning.

Katelynn Place is expected to cost about $6 million, Hosier said this morning. In early 2007, the investors asked the city for a 10-year tax abatement. The request was denied.

Hosier said that although there are several vacant apartments in Portland, he expects the development to fill up quickly. "I anticipate this to be a successful project," he said. The mayor said the amount of the investment and the fact that the complex will be located in the city's tax increment financing (TIF) district are both plusses for the city.

The project in Portland is one of eight awarded a total of $164 million. The funds are being distributed through the Tax Credit Assistance Program, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's low-income housing program. This is the first round of grants awarded through the program. The other cities receiving the funds in this round are Greenfield, Indianapolis, Brownsbug, Richmond, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne and Kokomo.

Officials with Keller have been working with The Schneider Corporation, which is designing the extension of Lafayette Street, Hosier said. An access drive is expected to be created until the Lafayette Street extension is completed. Work on the extension is set to begin in early spring 2010.[[In-content Ad]]
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