The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority approved consent resolutions Oct. 15 to allow bond closings for an 84‑unit age‑restricted senior housing project and an 80‑unit multifamily project, and separately approved financing steps for the Bluestone Town Center senior development.

The approvals clear final paperwork steps so bond counsel and lenders can complete closings. The resolution for the senior housing project authorizes issuance of bonds not to exceed $20 million and covers an approximately 84‑unit, age‑restricted building with project‑based vouchers. The multifamily resolution covers an 80‑unit building, also with a not‑to‑exceed principal of roughly $20 million. The Bluestone Town Center senior project was approved as a consent resolution tied to a 9% low‑income housing tax credit financing structure the authority previously authorized in May.

Board members voted on each resolution by roll call. The senior housing and multifamily resolutions each passed with the same voting pattern: Gil Coleman (yes), Kevin Kaufman (yes), Luciana Benjamin (yes) and Janet Archouadros (yes); Shawna Green and Amanda Leach were recorded as absent. The Bluestone Town Center resolution also passed by roll call after board members re‑called their votes.

Authority staff described fees and next steps. Staff said the Seals project bond issuances carry expected application and issuance fees — roughly $7,500 in application fees and about $20,000 in issuance fees — and that the fees will help partially offset local community development income shortfalls. "So catch up a little bit when we go to the bond issuance. That's it," staff said when summarizing the fiscal impact.

Board discussion also covered Bluestone Town Center's ownership and ground‑lease structure. Staff said the authority will own the land and enter into a ground lease with the BTC Senior 1 LLC and related manager/member entities; the entities will pursue construction financing via a 9% tax‑credit transaction and an affiliate nonprofit working as the syndicator. The authority and board discussed preferred ground‑lease lengths: staff recommended avoiding a 99‑year ground lease because longer terms could be treated by law as a transfer of the property; staff said a 30–40‑year lease or a compromise term nearer 40–50 years is under negotiation.

The board heard that some investor and syndicator details remain to be finalized and that a follow‑up resolution will be required once investors are identified. For Bluestone, staff said a subsequent resolution will be prepared after the investor structure is confirmed. "We'll have to do another resolution once the investors are identified," staff said.

What happens next: with the resolutions passed the authority staff and counsel will proceed with closing activities, investor syndication work for Bluestone, and coordination with lenders and tax‑credit syndicators. Staff said they expect the bond closings to occur as project financing documents are finalized.

Votes at a glance: senior housing bond resolution (84 units, project‑based vouchers) — approved (roll call: Coleman, Kaufman, Benjamin, Archouadros yes; Green and Leach absent). Multifamily bond resolution (80 units) — approved (same roll call pattern). Bluestone Town Center senior financing consent resolution — approved (roll call recorded after a second call).