Parkersburg City Council allocates more funds for housing project
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PARKERSBURG -- A budget revision nearly doubling the federal funding allocated to a proposed elderly and family affordable housing development was approved Tuesday by Parkersburg City Council.
A combined $250,000 was appropriated from previous years HOME Consortium budgets for the planned Patriot Point project just south of Kohl's outside the city limits. The city administers the consortium on behalf of the entire county and its municipalities.
But with rising interest rates and building material costs, the price of the project has risen from about $8 million to $10 million and the developer is seeking additional funding from both the city and the state, city Development Director Ryan Barber said.
"They approached us about a month ago and basically said that this project was at risk of falling through," he said. "They're being squeezed on a lot of different fronts."
Patriot Point is planned by Spire Development Group of New Albany, Ohio, to consist of 36 units for low-income seniors and families earning 60% or less of the area's median income. There will be 21 one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments and nine two-bedroom, one-bathroom units, all aimed at age 55 and up; plus seven three-bed, two-bath units for general occupancy and families. Seven of the units will be designated as HOME-assisted, meaning they are specifically supported by the subsidy, Barber said.
A recent housing study showed a lack of residential units in Wood County.
The revision, approved on a 7-0 vote Tuesday with Councilwoman Jesse Cottrille and Councilman Bob Mercer absent, would reallocate $100,000 from an earlier proposed affordable housing development that was unable to secure low-income housing tax credits and could not proceed.
Another $135,738.43 would be redirected from a line item for a "community based development organization," bringing the total for Patriot Point, with the earlier allocation, to $485,738.
Councilwoman Wendy Tuck asked how the funding was originally intended to be used. Barber said efforts were made to help existing organizations build capacity to focus on and assist with affordable housing or even stand up a new nonprofit to address those issues, but "the project never materialized."
In other business, council unanimously approved a general fund budget revision that included moving $100,000 from the previous fiscal year's carry over to the Urban Renewal Authority and $32,516 to the Fire Department from an insurance reimbursement for the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the chief fire inspector against the mayor and fire chief. Another 7-0 vote authorized Mayor Tom Joyce to apply for federal funding for equipment for the city Police Department and Wood County Sheriff's Department.
During the public forum, Parkersburg resident Anna Greiner echoed her neighbors' requests from a meeting last month for the city to address a deteriorating structure at 1334 39th St. Acting as the URA, council voted to acquire it by eminent domain years ago, but city officials said in July the process was taking a long time because the previous owner had died and multiple heirs were involved.
Two people living on or near the residential section of Market Street asked council to consider reviewing zoning rules that allow for home-based businesses in that area.
Discovery World on Market Executive Director Wendy Shriver told council members the interactive children's museum has welcomed 31,869 visitors since it opened on April 2, including people from multiple states and as far away as Iceland. Seventy-five scholarships have been awarded from funds allocated by the city to cover memberships for income-eligible children.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.