City Beat: Council tables multimillion-dollar bond vote

Springfield City Council on Oct. 19 voted to table a resolution calling on a multimillion-dollar bond issuance for a multisite affordable housing project.

Council members voted 7-2 to postpone the bill until its Nov. 2 meeting after members of the Springfield Tenants Unite organization raised concerns about the use of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program for the project. RAD, according to HUD’s website, gives public housing authorities the ability to leverage public and private debt and equity for the improvement of public housing.

“This is a tool that was created by HUD to find a way to finance refurbishment of existing public housing facilities,” Springfield Economic Development Director Sarah Kerner told council.

Keystone Family Homes, a partnership between BGC Advantage LLC and the Springfield Housing Authority, is seeking up to $22 million in housing revenue bonds from the city of Springfield’s Industrial Development Authority. The money would be used to finance the renovation of 297 multifamily housing units for low- and moderate-income individuals – including 85 buildings and single-family homes and duplexes scattered across Springfield, according to city documents. The properties include Glenwood Apartments at 722 E. Glenwood St., Cedarbrook Apartments at 811 N. Cedarbrook Ave. and Dogwood Apartments at West Madison Street and South Campbell Avenue.

During the meeting, multiple members of Springfield Tenants Unite asked council to postpone the vote. According to their Facebook page, the group is a “grassroots, multiracial organization advocating for homeless and tenants’ rights throughout Springfield and its surrounding areas.” Springfield Tenants Unite also works with the Coalition to Protect Missouri Tenants.

Alice Barber of Springfield Tenants Unite outlined a list of demands she wanted to see met before a vote took place. Some of those demands included a universal design of the properties, transparency in the process and accessible meeting times.

However, Housing Authority of Springfield CEO Katrena Wolfram said the organization has been communicative about the process since 2017.

“As you can tell by the evidence submitted with this bond, I have been very transparent with the residents,” said Wolfram. “With newsletters, public meetings – we have held a lot of public meetings – even with COVID, we have provided the mask, provided the sanitizer.”

Council members were conflicted about whether a vote should take place.

Councilperson Mike Schilling said while something should be done about the tenant complaints, a vote should take place on the bonds. Councilperson Andrew Lear said he did not know enough about the programs to alleviate the tenants’ concerns. He proposed to postpone the vote, saying he would like time to educate himself, as well as do outreach with the tenants on their concerns.

Councilperson Abe McGull also wanted to move forward with the vote but suggested HUD do some work to address the many issues of the tenants.

“I would strongly urge HUD do better public relations with their tenants because there is a lot of anxiety out there,” McGull said.

Wolfram said the group is working as a co-developer with Louisiana-based BGC Advantage.

“BGC has just done a lot of RAD deals across the country,” Wolfram said. “That’s why the board of directors and I chose them.”

BGC Advantage Principal and CEO Holly Knight said the group has more than 100 years of experience with affordable housing among its team members – including 65 RAD projects. Knight said city officials should consider the program an economic development opportunity. She said BGC Advantage used a National Association of Home Builders’ calculation to predict the project would create 481 construction jobs and 19 jobs post-construction.

Councilperson Craig Hosmer questioned the cost per unit of the project, which Knight said would be about $77,000. Knight said some of the buildings have extensive issues that need to be fixed.

“We will be doing hot water heaters … where we have to go underneath the building to renovate and address the sewer issues,” she said, also pointing to Americans with Disabilities Act improvements in the works.

Knight said Snyder Construction Group is on board to work as the general contractor.

Pocket neighborhood
A pocket neighborhood development two years in the making will have to wait a couple more weeks as council considers a requested amendment.

Mayor Ken McClure decided a vote on the redevelopment plan for the East Cherry Pocket Neighborhood Redevelopment area would take place at the Nov. 2 meeting.

Property owner and developer Say You Can LLC is asking the city to increase the tax abatement level of the project to 100% from 65%, resulting in estimated tax savings of $2,740 a year, according to city officials.

Say You Can has demolished the two homes on the property – 1361 and 1365 E. Cherry St. – and plans to build six attached, single-unit homes that will orient around a central courtyard. Run by Kelly Byrne and Springfield native and NBA player Anthony Tolliver, Say You Can is a multifamily real estate developer primarily in the senior and student segments.

The project is slated to cost $1.4 million, with Say You Can investing an estimated 25% according to city documents. A loan would cover the remaining costs, according to past reporting.

Other council action
Council unanimously accepted $200,000 in additional Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. The money is dedicated for job training for adult and dislocated workers.

Council unanimously accepted $25,000 in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grant funding. The money is slated to go toward the city’s equal opportunity officer funding.

Council will vote Nov. 2 on whether to accept two CARES Act grants from the U.S. Department of Treasury and Greene County. One of the grants will go toward the Springfield-Greene County Health Department for $4 million. The money will be used toward items such as test kits, supplies, contract tracing, salary and contract employees. A second amount, $2.17 million, to the city of Springfield would be used on unbudgeted payroll expense and other COVID-19 expenses. The fiscal 2021 budget would be amended in the amount of $6.17 million for the purpose of allocating the grants.