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YMHA gets tax credits for project
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority has been awarded $954,583 in tax credits for Phase II of the Village at Arlington project in Westlake Terrace.
The Village at Arlington Phase II project, off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will replace the remainder of the nation’s earliest and oldest remaining public-housing developments which was built in 1938 on the city’s North Side, said Carmelita Douglas, YMHA interim deputy executive director.
Arlington Hope VI neighborhood replaced much of the Westlake Terrace homes in recent years.
Housing tax-credits are federal income-tax credits that are claimed over 11 years by owners of eligible rental properties, Douglas explained. The credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the investor’s federal income tax liability.
The new community, with a price tag of $22.5 million, will consist of modern, energy-efficient apartment homes using sustainable green practices. It also will reduce density and the concentration of units from 218 to 120 through Phases I and II with 60 units each with two or three residential units in each building, YMHA officials said.
The new development would feature a clubhouse, two parking spaces adjacent to each residential unit, and a washer and dryer within each unit, officials said. Mansion-style dwellings mean two or three residential units in each building.
YMHA has applied to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency for a demolition permit which was preceded by an environmental study. Demolition will include 218 housing units, a maintenance shop, community center and laundry room, Douglas said.
Though the project technically has two phases, “now that we have the money” construction of the 120 units should be seamless, she added.
During demolition and construction, affected residents will be relocated to other YMHA units or they may receive vouchers for Section 8 homes or apartments, she said.
The YMHA project is among 33 developments to receive $23.8 million in tax credits through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s 2011 Housing Tax Credit Program. The developments serve families, seniors, and persons who are mentally ill or homeless and will provide 1,732 units of affordable rental housing in 22 counties.