LIMA — It has been a fixture in Lima’s Town Square since its construction in 1926. However, the former National Bank Building, 43 Town Square, has stood unused, with its doors currently chained shut. But now, the door is now opening to the building possibly becoming productive once again.
The city of Lima made the decision in September to use $500,000 in HOME funds allocated from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to leverage investments from developers to create not only low to moderate-income housing, which is what the funds are designed for, but also to encourage market level rental opportunities.
On Tuesday, Community Development director Amy Sackman Odum outlined the top two project proposals for this initiative, with the recommended project centered around the National Bank Building, currently owned by Town Square Center LLC and valued at $142,000, according to the Allen County Auditor.
“The proposal is to provide multifamily housing, as well as commercial office space,” she said.
This $17.3 million project would include creating commercial space on the first floor, office space on the second and third floors and 47 housing units in the remaining part of the building, 10 of which would be rented at market rates, rather than being reserved for lower-income renters.
“We’re hoping that will provide some encouragement and data to show that there is a market for this,” Sackman Odum said. “We’re inviting people to look at this project as an opportunity to build even more.”
This project was developed by the Westerville, Ohio-based Woda Development Group, the fourth-largest affordable home developer in the nation. The other proposed project involved building a $9.9 million senior housing complex on the site of the YWCA. While Sackman Odum acknowledged there is a great need for more options for senior housing, only one project could be chosen for recommendation.
“We were very thrilled with the quality of both proposals that were received,” Sackman Odum said. “We intend to support both as they go forward for other financing sources, but unfortunately, we can only afford to fund one, and the decision on the recommendation to council is for the Town Square building.”
Other fund sources that will be pursued include federal and state historic tax credits as well as $8.8 million in low-income housing tax credits.
“The projects themselves apply to the state of Ohio for funding,” Sackman Odum said. “We expect the financing to continue through probably December of 2016. This is simply one promise of money. We won’t know until June if the state will award funding for these projects.”
Concerns over parking were brought up during the meeting, with dedicated parking in the downtown parking garage, along with a walkway built between the parking garage and the building, listed as solutions.
If funds are allocated, the project would have to be completed by 2018, with construction starting in June 2017, at the latest.
Councilwoman Rebecca Kreher, chairwoman of Lima City Council’s Economic and Community Development Committee, said she was excited to learn about the project and what it could bring to the city’s downtown.
“I’m ready for a great investment to come to downtown that will add to other investments that have already been going on,” she said. “The city has done its due diligence in preparing for what’s next, and I appreciate that they’re not just thinking about today, but also what’s to come.”
Lima City Council will vote Monday on an ordinance to give conditional approval to the project, provided the additional funding can be secured.
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