Looks like there’s a developer in Mankato who wants $776,000 in tax subsidies for their $13.14M 44-unit apartment building project. That kind of financing is usually reserved for affordable housing, but something doesn’t smell right.
Here’s Five Fast Facts About the Mankato Apartment Project:
- 🏗️De-luxe Apartment - The developers want to build four stories of one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents of $1,000 and $1,500 a month along with a parking garage.
- 🥈Round Two - This is the second time this group has asked for money for this project. Now they want more money to build fewer apartments. Last time, they pitched a 56-until building with a cost of $7M. The city passed.
- 💲How Much? - TIF financing takes the additional property taxes and returns them to the developer for 15 years. A city consultant says the project cannot happen without the subsidies.
- 👷Behind Schedule - The proposal has a June 1, 2022 start date, with a Sept. 2023 completion date. It comes in front of a committee for approval this September, putting them four months behind schedule.
- 🌆City Livin’ - State law requires TIF financing to go toward subsidies for affordable housing projects or redevelopment projects. Their rent doesn’t qualify, but other recent TIF-funded projects in the area are charging higher prices. The developer argued the only way to solve an apartment shortage is to build more apartments, also noting that tenants will be working people with downtown jobs. Real subtle, dude.
🔥Bottom line: Rent’s too dang high and available apartments are slim pickings at this point. Some think this latest kerfuffle is a classic case of pricing a large chunk of people out of renting because of the location and using “supply and demand.” Others say this is a reason why cities like St. Paul have rent control. What do you think of the development?
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