Council approves RHID for Union at Tower District with 20-year cap and sale clawback

The Topeka City Council voted to establish a reinvestment housing incentive district (RHID) for the Union at Tower District and to approve a development agreement with the project's developer, the Annex Group, after adding a 20-year limit, a $12,000,000 gross RHID cap and a clawback condition that would end RHID benefits if the property is sold before the term expires.

The vote followed a public hearing and extended presentations from city staff and the developer. The project would build 250 apartment units downtown between 11th and 12th Streets and Quincy and Monroe, with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units that the developer said will be income-qualified and capped at 30%, 50% and 60% of area median income in some units.

City staff and the RHID review committee had analyzed the developer's original request and financial pro forma. The applicant sought a net present value (NPV) RHID reimbursement the city characterized as $7,600,000 (about $15,800,000 gross over 25 years), while the city's initial financial review recommended a much smaller NPV (about $900,000). The RHID review committee had earlier proposed a compromise at about $4,800,000 (gross), but council…