The project has been spearheaded by Louisville, Ky.-based Weyland Ventures, the developer behind the Wheelhouse Lofts.
“I personally think this is a great fit for this location,” said Jerry Brunswick, a consultant and former executive director for the Port Authority, who spoke to trustees on the issue. “This is market rate housing.”
Trustees voted unanimously in favor of a capital lease agreement that makes the sales tax exemption possible on construction materials.
The complex will offer a mix of efficiencies with 1- and 2-bedroom units, with 188 parking spaces on the lower level of the building and 32 surface parking spaces, Brunswick said.
“This is a win-win, to say the least,” he added.
Brad Evers, counsel for the Port Authority, informed trustees that Joe Geraghty, executive director of the Port Authority, has been an investor in the opportunity zone where the new apartments will be built.
“He’s pulling himself back from the discussion,” Evers said.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created a federal tax incentive, the zones, meant to encourage investment in undercapitalized communities. The program provides tax benefits for investing unrealized capital gains in the zones.
Geraghty got involved in this zone as a minority investor about two years ago, he told trustees. Before he assumed his current position with the Port Authority, Geraghty was a member of JMG Advisory Services LLC, a wealth management firm. He became executive director of the Port Authority in August 2020.
“Jerry has been handling all of the interface with the Weyland Group on this matter,” Geraghty said.
Brunswick added that the project involves nothing that the Port Authority has not already done in other capital lease projects across the region.
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