MONROE - The city of Monroe is again ready to sell a municipal parking lot to Silverstone Partners, Inc., allowing the company to make a second attempt to participate in a federal tax credit program to build a a 60-unit senior housing complex on the corner of 16th Avenue and 8th Street.
The sale is contingent upon Silverstone's acceptance into the program next spring, which would give the Middleton-based real estate development and investment firm about $5 million in federal tax credits for the nearly $8 million project.
The tax credits increase the investor's down payment in the development by lowering mortgage and financing costs. It does not relieve the firm from paying property taxes.
The Monroe Common Council approved the sale Tuesday on an 8-to-2 vote, with Neal Hunter and Sara Conway voting against the motion.
The property would be sold at its estimated fair market value of $42,700.
The city approved a similar conditional sale of the same property last December, but Silverstone Partners' program application this April did not score high enough to participate in the IRS federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, administered by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
WHEDA did, however, say it liked the site and the market for the project, according to Tom Sather, president and CEO of Silverstone Partners.
This time around, the firm is "partnering with a non-profit organization and the Federal Home Loan Bank," which should help raise its score, Sather said Wednesday.
Adding the two new entities to the project plans will allow the firm more access to soft money, such as home funds and zero-percent interest loans, and to stimulus funds, Sather explained.
"WHEDA likes to see these public-private participation in projects," he added.
Sather said WHEDA will determine the project's eligibility for the tax credit program sometime in March or April 2012.
Some council members toured one of Silverstone's senior housing project in Beaver Dam Monday. The tour was set up to allow new members on the council to see the type of project Silverstone is proposing.
At a meeting of the Public Property Committee Tuesday, Aldermen Tyler Schultz and Brooke Bauman indicated their approval of the Monroe project. Schultz noted the development would help the Tax Increment District, which is failing to raise enough funds in property taxes to pay its debt.
Alderman Thurston Hanson said he has received several calls against the project, but added that people who are for the project usually never call to state their position.
Alderman Charles Koch was in favor of the project this time around. Koch, along with Neal Hunter, was opposed to the sale of the parking lot last December. In fact, Koch voted against all city actions to move the project forward.
Koch said his opposition was because he wanted to try bringing industrial business to the area.
"Now I can see no reason to object to it," he said. "It's better than nothing."
The sale is contingent upon Silverstone's acceptance into the program next spring, which would give the Middleton-based real estate development and investment firm about $5 million in federal tax credits for the nearly $8 million project.
The tax credits increase the investor's down payment in the development by lowering mortgage and financing costs. It does not relieve the firm from paying property taxes.
The Monroe Common Council approved the sale Tuesday on an 8-to-2 vote, with Neal Hunter and Sara Conway voting against the motion.
The property would be sold at its estimated fair market value of $42,700.
The city approved a similar conditional sale of the same property last December, but Silverstone Partners' program application this April did not score high enough to participate in the IRS federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, administered by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
WHEDA did, however, say it liked the site and the market for the project, according to Tom Sather, president and CEO of Silverstone Partners.
This time around, the firm is "partnering with a non-profit organization and the Federal Home Loan Bank," which should help raise its score, Sather said Wednesday.
Adding the two new entities to the project plans will allow the firm more access to soft money, such as home funds and zero-percent interest loans, and to stimulus funds, Sather explained.
"WHEDA likes to see these public-private participation in projects," he added.
Sather said WHEDA will determine the project's eligibility for the tax credit program sometime in March or April 2012.
Some council members toured one of Silverstone's senior housing project in Beaver Dam Monday. The tour was set up to allow new members on the council to see the type of project Silverstone is proposing.
At a meeting of the Public Property Committee Tuesday, Aldermen Tyler Schultz and Brooke Bauman indicated their approval of the Monroe project. Schultz noted the development would help the Tax Increment District, which is failing to raise enough funds in property taxes to pay its debt.
Alderman Thurston Hanson said he has received several calls against the project, but added that people who are for the project usually never call to state their position.
Alderman Charles Koch was in favor of the project this time around. Koch, along with Neal Hunter, was opposed to the sale of the parking lot last December. In fact, Koch voted against all city actions to move the project forward.
Koch said his opposition was because he wanted to try bringing industrial business to the area.
"Now I can see no reason to object to it," he said. "It's better than nothing."