DED approves grant for low-income housing project

The grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development is for $250,000 and is contingent upon the project also receiving low-income housing tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which will make its decision in December, according to project developer Marie Carmichael.

Joe and Marie Carmichael are behind Affordable Homes Development Inc., which is developing the $5 million project in Silver Brooks Estates, about one mile west of West Bypass, between Chestnut Expressway and Sunshine Street. The project includes 32 single-family Energy Star-certified homes averaging about 1,800 square feet, with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Rent will be $529 per month, and renters will have an option to buy at a discounted rate after 15 years, Marie Carmichael said.

If the housing commission approves tax credits, construction could begin in spring or summer of 2009, Carmichael said.

The Community Development Block Grant program provides grants and loans to cities with populations less than 50,000 and counties with populations less than 200,000 to help with public works and economic development projects, the release said.