02-28-90 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES City Council February 28, 1990 for increasing employment opportunities within the City. Brachman stated that the proposal will meet the "but for" test of TIF. Brachman pointed out that he is asking for a portion of the taxes to be returned to the developers so that rents can be reduced. The City will not be at risk, and the building will be guaranteed to be age-restricted for the length of the assistance. Fahey stated that he would like to see the guarantee of an age-restricted building for 25 to 30 years. Brachman did not believe that lenders would accept such restrictions beyond the length of the assistance. The City Administrator pointed out that if the TIF District were a housing district, the assistance could be stretched out over 25 years. For a housing district, State Statutes will require a minimum of 50 percent of occupants to be at or below 80% of the gross median income levels. Concern was expressed for the quality of the project with Brachman inviting the Council to look at other similar projects which he has developed. Fahey stated that he was not opposed to the proposal, however, would like to see the building age restricted for a time period longer than 12 to 14 years, and would like to see the majority of units as one-bedroom feeling that this would assist in limiting the building to seniors. Maxfield agreed that buildings designed for seniors which include the majority of units as one-bedroom, handicapped access, and large common areas tend to limit these buildings to senior occupants. Skip Sorenson, architect for the project, reported that once a building is designed for the elderly, and it reaches 1000 occupancy, there are very few conversions to the open market. Fahey pointed out the previous discussions with Barthel Construction about City involvement in the project which would give the City more control. Collova pointed out that along with control, the City would also gain some risk. Page 17