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Council approves $1 million deferred loan for acquisition of 208-unit Indigo apartments to preserve affordable units
Summary
City council approved a $1,000,000 deferred, 0% interest loan over 40 years to support the acquisition of the 208-unit Indigo apartment building at 801 Chestnut Street. The units will be restricted to households at or below 80% of area median income; staff said other funding partners will provide additional financing.
Clearwater City Council on March 17 approved a $1,000,000 deferred loan to S.A.H. Indigo Holdings LP to support the acquisition of the 208-unit Indigo apartment complex at 801 Chestnut Street, an action staff said aims to preserve below‑market-rate rental housing.
Acting Housing Manager Dylan May told the council the city’s deferred loan will be provided at 0% interest for 40 years and will be used for acquisition costs only; additional financing for the project includes a $2,000,000 loan from the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and county and land-trust resources. May said the rental units will be restricted to households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI); staff also said a portion of the units will be set aside at deeper affordability levels, with specific percentages to be finalized in the project financing documents.
During public comment, one resident criticized the city’s role in underwriting housing projects and questioned the proposed terms; other commenters and council members said preserving an existing multiunit complex as affordable housing is fiscally and socially preferable to redevelopment into market-rate units.
Vice Mayor David Albritton, who supported the project, noted the building previously operated with HUD support and said the acquisition would preserve housing stock that was renovated and needs to remain affordable for residents. Council discussion confirmed the county funding partners were still committed to their previously announced level of support; staff said they would provide exact county and land-trust funding figures in subsequent staff reports and as conditions of closing.
Council voted unanimously to approve the deferred loan on the conditions listed on the agenda: the loan is contingent upon a satisfactory subsidy analysis, the receipt of structural-evaluation approval from staff, confirmation of other funding sources and an approved tenant-relocation plan. Staff said the loan documents and closing conditions will be finalized before funds are released.
