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Land bank outlines plan for four affordable rental units at South Fifth Street site
Summary
The Columbia Planning Commission heard an update from the Land Bank about a project to build two duplexes on a cleared lot at South Fifth Street and Avenue K; the units will be offered as affordable rentals, accept Housing Choice vouchers, and require further site-plan review.
The Columbia Planning Commission on June 17 heard a briefing from a Land Bank representative about a redevelopment project to build two duplexes on a cleared parcel at South Fifth Street and Avenue K.
The project will create four rental units, Land Bank representative Sean said, and “we'll be offering them as affordable rental units” through the Lancaster County Redevelopment Fund, the nonprofit affiliate the Land Bank will use to hold the property. Sean said the units are intended to fit the existing single-family context and that the developer selected Tibbets Weaver as architect and is subcontracting engineering work.
Commissioners were given a timeline: the properties were submitted to the Land Bank in 2022, presented to the Planning Commission on April 18, 2023, and demolition was approved by the Borough Council on May 9 (year not specified). Sean said the project went to zoning and that a certificate of appropriateness was approved by the Borough Council on May 27 of this year. The Land Bank does not yet have full site plans; Sean said preliminary site plans exist and full submissions to borough staff and the borough engineer are expected in coming months.
On design and use, Sean described three finished floors with the third-floor area intended as a family/gathering space and said a variance condition prohibits using that third-floor space as a bedroom. He said the plan includes two parking spaces per unit. Commissioners raised a site-specific utilities concern: a utility pole near the corner of Avenue K and Church Alley that will be addressed when full site plans and utility layouts are submitted.
On financing and management, Sean said rising construction costs make condominium resale impractical. “The cost of these units is around half a million dollars to build,” he said, and explained that selling them at lower prices would require large subsidies. To maintain affordability while keeping the project viable, the Land Bank will retain ownership through its nonprofit arm and rent the units; the Land Bank will subcontract property management and the housing authority will complete inspections. Sean said the units will be marketed at fair market rents and the project will accept Housing Choice vouchers: “we are not in the in the place we're gonna be denying because of source of income, tenants. So we'll be accepting… housing choice vouchers.”
No formal action was taken by the Planning Commission at the June 17 meeting on the South Fifth Street parcel; the Commission received the update and was told staff and project partners will return with full site plans and additional materials later in the summer or early fall.
The commission also noted other related administrative matters on the agenda, including a likely continuance of a separate zoning hearing for 15 North Fourth Street because a required 20,000-square-foot zoning requirement was not listed in the public advertisement, and that the Land Bank representative will return to answer further questions.
