HUD-financed housing projects move forward

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The city of Hudson Plan Commission last week gave its approval to concept plans for two Department of Housing and Urban Development-backed projects in Heritage Greens.

The projects are a 15-unit apartment building for people with physical disabilities and a 32-unit building for senior citizens, age 62 and older.

Accessible Space Inc., a national nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Paul, applied for HUD funding for the buildings in 2008.

Last January, HUD awarded $4.6 million in capital advance funding for the senior building and $1.9 million for the building for people of all ages with disabilities.

Dan Billmark, director of real estate development for Accessible Space, said the Hudson projects were allocated all of Wisconsin’s HUD funding those types of projects in 2008.

Equally important, Billmark said, was the fact that HUD awarded ongoing funding for maintenance of the buildings and to subsidize the rent of people living in the buildings.

“They are as good as lifetime projects,” he said. “Upkeep, operation, maintenance is all paid for through the federal programs. That’s why they are such good gifts for the city.”

Only people with incomes 50 percent or less of the median income for the area will qualify to reside in the buildings.

Billmark said the restriction won’t keep out most seniors, however, and will disqualify very few people with the serious physical disabilities that the 15-unit building will house.

Rents will be capped at 30 percent of a resident’s adjusted gross income.

Billmark said Anchor Real Estate Group, representing the developers of the Heritage Greens neighborhood, granted ASI fee waivers that helped the organization win HUD backing.

There was a great deal of community support for the buildings, Billmark said.

Members of the Plan Commission indicated that they were pleased with drawings of the planned buildings.

Billmark said the buildings have some design features that make them more attractive than the typical HUD building.

“I think this is about what we’ve been planning on, and it sure looks attractive to me,” said Mayor Dean Knudson, chair of the Plan Commission. “This is a great project. We’re lucky to have this.”

The commission is expected to review final plans for the buildings at its next meeting.

Billmark said construction will start at “frost out” next spring.

Tags: housing projects, heritage greens, news, hudson, hud