Redevelopment Commission OKs $180,000 conditional Jacobsville TIF pledge for 44-unit Advantix project

The Evansville Redevelopment Commission on July 15 approved Resolution 25 ERC 16 to authorize a $180,000 commitment from Jacobsville tax-increment financing (TIF) funds to Advantix Development Corp. for River City Homes, a scattered-site, affordable housing project that would create 44 units if awarded federal low-income housing tax credits.

The pledge is conditional on Advantix receiving a 9% low-income housing tax credit allocation. Tim Martin, executive vice president of Advantix, told the commission the River City Homes proposal represents about a $13,000,000 investment in and around the Jacobsville neighborhood and that the developer is seeking to assemble a roughly 10% local match to qualify for points in the tax-credit scoring process.

The commission’s approval followed a detailed presentation and questions from members about geographic eligibility for Jacobsville TIF funds, the timing of the tax-credit application, and how the project’s homeowner conversion and affordability rules will work.

Why it matters: Jacobsville TIF funds are intended to support redevelopment in the Jacobsville redevelopment area, and several commissioners raised concerns that only a small share of the project parcels are inside the TIF boundary. Staff and counsel advised that TIF can legally support projects that serve the redevelopment area, and the commission balanced that legal opinion with the project’s stated ability to create 44 affordable units for households earning up to 80% of area median income.

Advantix and project details: Martin said the project seeks 9% tax credits and would produce single-family and duplex homeownership-eligible units financed with low-income housing tax credits. He said tenants who occupy a unit for the full 15-year compliance period would receive a credit that can reduce the purchase price by up to 50% of appraised value at conversion. Martin said the developer has applied for $250,000 from the city Affordable Housing Trust Fund and that the land bank donated many of the lots. He told the commission the developer is pursuing roughly $1.3 million in local contributions to meet the 10% local match requirement.

On unit design and operating assumptions, Martin said the homes would meet National Green Building Standard Silver certification, be all-electric, and estimated a three-bedroom unit’s average electric cost at about $120 per month. He said the development includes accessible units (seven total across the scattered sites, he said) and a leasing preference/set-aside for households with developmental disabilities.

Timing and risk: Martin said the tax-credit application deadline is July 28 and that notification would come in November; the developer said construction could start midyear next year, with individual home construction cycles of roughly 120–150 days and leases available as units are completed. Multiple commissioners pressed that tabling the resolution would likely jeopardize the developer’s ability to show local support in the application and could reduce the project’s competitive score.

Concerns raised: Commissioners Todd and others noted that, based on the project map in the packet, only a small number of addresses targeted for the River City Homes project sit inside the official Jacobsville redevelopment boundary. Todd said he was “not a big supporter of it in this case” for that geographic reason even though he voted in favor of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund advisory committee recommendation. Another commissioner asked staff to gather and share a list of ready projects actually inside Jacobsville for future comparison.

Legal and fiscal safeguards: Staff and bond counsel discussed drafting a development agreement that would comply with statutory restrictions on TIF disbursements and with bond covenants; the $180,000 commitment was described by staff as a single lump-sum pledge to be made to a project-specific entity if the tax-credit allocation is awarded. Staff emphasized the commitment is contingent on the tax-credit allocation and that, if the credits are not awarded, the funds would not be disbursed and would remain available for other eligible projects.

Votes at a glance: The commission recorded three formal votes during the meeting. The commission approved the June 17 meeting minutes (motion carried, vote recorded as four ayes), approved the accounts payable voucher (motion carried, four ayes), and approved Resolution 25 ERC 16 authorizing the conditional $180,000 Jacobsville TIF pledge to Advantix (motion carried, Greg: aye; Randy: aye; Alexia/Elizka: aye; Darren: aye).

What’s next: Staff said it will prepare a project-specific development agreement and consult bond counsel to ensure the TIF disbursement complies with statutory and bond constraints. Advantix said it will proceed with the July 28 tax-credit application and return with updates; staff asked commissioners to provide any additional projects inside Jacobsville for the commission to review if the Advantix application does not result in a disbursement.

Ending: With the resolution approved, commission members wished the developer luck on the application and the meeting was adjourned.