GDPM has emptied out Wilkinson Plaza, which is a 200-unit, high-rise apartment tower at 126 W. Fifth St. that was built nearly five decades ago.
The agency started moving residents to other subsidized housing units at the beginning of this year.
Wilkinson Plaza needs about $30 million worth of repairs, and paying for those upgrades would not be a good use of GDPM’s limited capital funding, Heapy said.
GDPM owns and operates 2,749 public housing units across 73 sites in Montgomery County, and the average age of its properties is about 45 years old.
GDPM said its apartment properties have about $135 million in capital needs, but the agency receives less than $8 million in federal capital funds each year, which is far too little to pay for all of the needed improvements.
However, GDPM has used the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD) to raise millions of dollars in private funds to pay for capital repairs and replace obsolete affordable housing.
Under RAD, public housing units are converted from the Section 9 housing program into the Section 8 project-based voucher housing program.
This shift allows housing authorities to use properties’ land value as collateral to finance renovations, demolition and new construction by raising equity investments and taking out loans, says the Urban Institute. These activities are not allowed under the Section 9 public housing program.
The conversion program removes restrictions that require that only federal dollars can be used to operate and maintain the buildings, units and land, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The properties still have to remain low-income or affordable housing, but public housing authorities can access local, state or private financing and they can utilize the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
Tax credits are sold to corporate investors to bring in private capital.
GDPM is in the process of converting about 346 of its public housing units to Section 8 voucher units through the RAD program (or about 13% of its inventory).
The agency has another 546 housing units in the conversion pipeline that HUD has committed to fund, Heapy said, and there’s still another 225 units that GDPM plans to convert.
GDPM is exploring all redevelopment options for Wilkinson Plaza, but if it decides to demolish and rebuild the housing, the agency will use all financing options, like RAD and tax credits, Heapy said.
GDPM is actively seeking permission from HUD to demolish the property, she said.
Heapy said Wilkinson Plaza is in a unique location, very close to Sinclair Community College and other downtown amenities.
GDPM might consider partnering with Sinclair to serve some “special populations,” possibly like young families with children who want to continue their education or young adults who are aging out of foster care, Heapy said.
“I think that location is very special and has a lot of opportunity,” she said.
One of GDPM’s larger RAD conversion projects is a $14.4 million overhaul of the Hallmark Meridian senior apartments, located at 714 Plymouth Avenue (behind Reichard Buick on lower Salem Avenue).
Construction began on the 75-unit apartment building in the third quarter of 2022 and the project is expected to be finished by the end of this year.
Internal systems were the main focus of the renovations, such as improvements to plumbing, flooring, kitchens, HVAC and the roof.
Hallmark Meridian is being rehabbed with the help of about $8.5 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits equity, $2.1 million in historic tax credits and a $1 million bank loan.
GDPM hopes to soon begin construction soon on Germantown Crossing, which is a $15.5 million RAD transaction.
A 50-unit apartment complex will be built on the former Day-Mont Behavioral Health Care property at 1520 Germantown St., which is a few blocks from the DeSoto Bass Courts apartment complex.
DeSoto Bass is Dayton’s largest and oldest public housing development, with roughly 350 units.
Germantown Crossing’s new apartments will begin to replace subsidized housing units in DeSoto Bass, which will be demolished. Germantown Crossing tenants will receive rent subsidies from GDPM.
Another phase of new housing, called Renew Miami Chapel, also will replace obsolete DeSoto Bass apartments with new housing units.
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