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No funding for complex in Struthers
By Jeanne Starmack
STRUTHERS
Developers who planned a senior citizens apartment complex in the city could not get funding for the project.
Roy Lowenstein of Buckeye Community Hope Foundation in Columbus said developers learned recently they would not receive funding through tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
The foundation and the Mahoning Valley Housing and Finance Agency, based in Struthers, had an option to buy four acres behind Youngstown Poland Road for 40 ranch-style units. The property, owned by local grocery-store-chain owner Henry Nemenz, was previously the site of a proposed condominium development.
The nonprofit developers are eligible to apply for funds through public programs to develop housing that benefits low- to moderate-income families.
Lowenstein said earlier this week that there was a “very high level of competition” for the funding, with “preservation projects,” rather than new construction, getting priority.
“They put a lot more resources into acquiring and renovating subsidized housing,” he said.
“Of 33 projects funded, there were only eight that were for new construction, and that’s where the greatest competition is,” he added.
The developers had asked the city in October to officially support the development, which it did.
The tax credits would have generated $4.5 million toward the $6 million development.
Ohio had $230 million in tax credits to award, and there were 90 applicants for them.