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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNarrative Cleveland Square Narrative Cleveland Square is an exciting opportunity to fundamentally transform a deteriorating city block in downtown Caldwell that was the longtime site of Pennywise Drugs. Cleveland Square came about through a blossoming relationship between the developers and Terry Reilly Health Services (TRHS). TRHS purchased the property a few years ago with plans to build a first-class health clinic that would provide services to low- to middle-income individuals and to expand their service footprint in Canyon County. The site is ideally located for this clinic and the demand for services is very extensive, but the TRHS timeline for creation of this clinic was undefined due to the capital resource requirements. Through concurrent conversations regarding affordable housing in Canyon County, the idea germinated that collocating senior residential units above the clinic would maximize resource efficiency and create in-building access to affordable medical, dental, mental health and case management services for a shared senior population. Extensive discussions and planning followed and are distilled in this application to provide a replicable model for effective case management and service delivery. Cleveland Square is designed around the concept that resident services are an integral aspect of the mission to address the affordability needs of seniors. Collocation of the clinic and residential units minimizes the likelihood that seniors will go without adequate services due to lack of transportation or increasing costs of service delivery. Support and training in the areas of health care, financial management, mental health care, potential employment, social events, recreational activities, community meals and volunteer opportunities can make significant difference in the lives of seniors and families facing difficult economic challenges. Further, partnering with Terry Reilly Health Services allows the project to provide direct supportive services to the Special Housing Needs units in the project. Cleveland Square will provide a healthy, attractive rental community for individuals and seniors and will allow for immediate service availability, eliminating a very troubling transportation dilemma facing seniors with compounding quality of life implications. Cleveland Square will be located in downtown Caldwell surrounded by everything a senior household needs to have a fulfilling life. It will continue the revitalization efforts underway downtown. Indian Creek Park is located one block north, Memorial Park is 3 blocks south, West Valley Medical Center is less than a mile away. Other medical professions are within walking distance, as well as retail, commercial, educational and community based supportive service firms. Cleveland Square is a smart growth design utilizing less than an acre to construct 50-units of housing above a TRHS clinic. The units and common areas will be thoughtfully arranged in a corridor-loaded 4- story building. All units contain electric ranges with self-cleaning ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, disposals and microwave ovens. On-site amenities include, but are not limited to a community gathering room, exercise facility and computer lab. City-Data.com cites the 2014 population of Caldwell as 50,224. Since 2000, the city has grown 93.4%. Local planners have succeeded in allowing development to encircle the city center, which has an effect of bringing the community inward to local eateries, events and community recreation. The rapid growth has brought along with it increased housing costs. In 2000, the median house price was $81,400. In 2016, that price was $131,762. An increase of 62% in approximately 15 years. There is a potential for that number to be underestimated due to a high level of construction of poor quality housing during the years 2004-2007. Many of those homes are experiencing high capital costs approximately 10 years later due to poor workmanship and cheap materials. What is worse is that rents continue to rise in spite of quality, with seniors unable to meet the increased burdens. When the developers and TRHS began discussions about partnering on this conceptual property, quality of workmanship, site design and durability became the bedrock of the relationship. The developers are driven to produce an affordable housing community that will be a strong asset to the affordable housing community in Idaho and anticipate that this development will trigger other development nearby. Cleveland Square will be referenced for the advances in fair housing and the breaking down of economic barriers between individuals with varying incomes while providing a truly affordable access to housing and healthcare. To address the market’s demand, Cleveland Square’s unit mix is ten (10) studio units, thirty-four (34) 1BR/1BA units and six (6) 2BR/1BA units serving low income residents. The property will have three (3) units set at the 30% AMI, four (4) units set at the 40% AMI, eight (8) units set at the 45% AMI, seventeen (17) units set at the 50% AMI, thirteen (13) units set at 55% and five (5) unrestricted market units. The quality of the units will compete with all LIHTC and Market apartment options currently available in Caldwell and Canyon County and come with a reduced cost of healthcare built in as an amenity. The Project is being designed with various energy efficiencies in the units, community building and the site. All appliances are energy efficient and current best practices will be utilized in insulating the buildings. The site design establishes the context for a walkable neighborhood for residents and visitors to the area and promotes interaction with future developments in the area. The site location and design take advantage of the many public transportation options while addressing potential noise levels coming from Cleveland Boulevard, which is a low speed arterial through town. Cleveland Square will be sponsored by Moonlake Consulting (Chance Hobbs) and Inflection Development (Bill Truax). Moonlake Consulting and Inflection Development will be Co-Developers and members of the General Partner. The Housing Company has been engaged to provide professional property management services based on their previous successful experience within the IHFA Section 42 LIHTC program.