A new apartment complex described as affordable housing is being proposed near the entrance of Rochester's Country Club Manor neighborhood.
Titan Development and Investments filed a request on Oct. 27 for “a small-scale land use map amendment” for an open parcel of land on the northwest corner of Country Club Road Southwest and 36th Avenue Northwest. That is land owned by the People of Hope Church, which is next to it.
The permit asks to change the zoning from “mixed single family” to a “medium density residential” (R-3).
The request is part of a proposal to build a “three-story, 72-unit, affordable housing apartment building” called Manor Hills on the site.
The proposal says the U-shaped complex will be for “income-restricted families earning 30 and 60 percent of the area median income or below, and will be rent-restricted at the 30, 50, and 60 percent AMI levels. Furthermore, eight units will receive rental assistance through Housing Support subsidy.”
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While the proposal is at the very early stages of the city approval process, the application does include a letter of support from the City of Rochester signed by Mayor Kim Norton.
“This project will supply highly needed affordable housing for working families and benefit the community tremendously,” Norton said in the letter. “The need for workforce housing in Rochester and the surrounding communities is strong and promises to grow even stronger with the project job growth in our community…”
The Manor Hills project has already been awarded tax credits by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
Norton’s letter also pledged the possibility of a 15 year tax-increment financing note from the city, potentially worth $666,702, “provided there is a demonstrated and justifiable funding gap.” She added that the Rochester City Council would need to hold a public hearing to establish the TIF district.
