Columbus City Council members have approved a resolution supporting TWG Development’s plans for Flats on 14th, to be located on three parcels in Columbus on property previously owned by Columbus Pallet Corp.
The vote was 6-0, with council members Jerone Wood, D-District 3, and Jay Foyst, R-District 6, absent. Council member Chris Bartels, R-District 1, abstained from the vote.
TWG Development is planning a 110-unit project on 3.36 acres at 1520 14th St., across from Central Park Place.
Director of Community Development Robin Hilber was joined by TWG’s Marisa Conaster to discuss the potential development with the council.
“We have not done a project previously in Columbus, and we’ve been searching for a good opportunity,” Conaster told the council. “We’ve been able to secure under a purchase agreement, the Columbus Pallet Corp., and put together the proposed 110-unit development of workforce housing.”
The four-story development is planned to have 35 one-bedroom units, 50 two-bedroom units, and 25 three-bedroom units, all reserved for those making 60% of average median income (AMI). This means that one-bedrooms would be for those earning up $39,360, two-bedrooms for those earning up to $44,940 and three-bedrooms for those making up to $50,580, according to Hilber. The development would also have an onsite, licensed daycare center.
TWG “does not plan to ask for TIF funding or tax abatement,” Hilber wrote to the council, and the developer will own and manage the property for at least 15 years after construction and “provide at least 40 years of affordable housing to the community.”
The total development costs for the project is $29.1 million, according to Conaster.
TWG intends to apply to the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) for 4% federal low-income tax credits (LIHTC) along with affordable and workforce state tax credits (AWHTC) to support the project, Conaster said.
The resolution passed during the meeting is required as part of TWG’s application to the IHCDA. During the same meeting, the council also considered resolutions related to another project, Haw Creek Meadows, that will also be applying for tax credits, although each are applying for differing awards.
“(TWG) will be in the 4% bucket, the (Haw Creek Meadows) tax abatement that you passed was in the 9% bucket, so these will not be competing projects, which will be really good for Columbus if we can happen to get both of those,” Hilber observed.
In order to bolster TWG’s application to IHCDA, the developer asked for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with the city where TWG will claim tax savings towards their total development costs. TWG will pay the city $33,000 during the first year, and that amount will increase 3% annually over the next 15 years.
“The way that this counts for IHCDA to get us some of those points, is they’re allowing us to count those tax savings as the city’s contribution to the project,” Conaster told the council. “So we will still be paying a much higher amount than what the city is currently getting in property taxes on those three parcels.”
A previous article in The Republic stated that TWG would pay the city $166,000 annually as part of the PILOT agreement — that figure was provided by Hilber who said she gave the incorrect figure by mistake.
“Rather than, each year the property getting assessed and then the tax amount can change, we’re saying we’ll pay the $33,000 for the first year, regardless of the assessed value, and then each year pay 3% more of that $33,000,” Conaster further explained.
The money TWG pays the city annually would be required to go into an affordable housing fund “to be used in the next 15 years on additional affordable housing,” Hilber said.
Applications to IHCDA are due by the end of this month and awarded in November. The PILOT agreement itself wouldn’t be considered by the council until early 2025, per Hilber, and depends on whether or not TWG is ultimately awarded the tax credits.
