Housing committee partners with developer on affordable housing project

An area housing committee is partnering with a developer on plans to build a 40-unit, affordable-housing complex in Cape Girardeau.

The city council recently endorsed the plan, which depends on securing tax credits from the Missouri Housing

Development Commission to make it financially feasible.

The Liberty Apartment projects would be built on a five-acre site, encompassing land along South West End Boulevard and the adjacent rear portion of 1112 Linden St., developer Chad Hartle said.

Hartle would develop and manage the apartments. Hartle said his company has managed affordable-housing developments since 1987 and currently oversees more than 1,000 units across several communities.

The Cape Girardeau Area Housing Committee, which comprises 24 social-service organizations and agencies, would own the development through a newly formed limited liability company, according to information filed with city staff.

Hartle, who serves on the housing committee, said the housing project would mark the first time the housing committee has been directly involved in ownership of apartment units.

�It has been a goal to go in this direction for a long time,� he told the council.

The project calls for construction of 40, two-bedroom, 865-square-foot, single-story apartments.

Ten of the units would be set aside for special-needs tenants, Hartle said.

The Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau would serve as the lead referral agency, but all the organizations and agencies that are members of the housing committee will provide services to the residents as the need arises, according to plans filed at city hall.

Hartle said there has been a growing trend over the past five years to include social services as part of affordable-housing projects.

Plans call for the apartments to rent for about $500 a month.

The complex would include a community building, featuring an open area for large gatherings, a learning center and exercise equipment, according to the plans.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said in an agenda report the council�s endorsement of the project will be a part of the tax-credit application Hartle and the housing committee will submit to the state�s housing commission.

Such tax credits are limited and issued on a competitive basis, Shrimplin said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

1112 Linden St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.