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Developer pitches 70–75‑unit project at 870 Main Street; tax-credit application due in May
Summary
A developer presented a proposal to build about 70–75 housing units on authority-owned parcels at 870 Main Street and said a federal low-income housing tax-credit application would be submitted in May; the board discussed sale terms and covenants but took no public action.
Edrick Harris of Prestwick Development Company presented a concept for a new housing development on parcels the authority controls near 870 Main Street, telling the Forest Park Development Authority the firm plans to submit a federal low-income housing tax-credit application in May and is exploring acquisition and development terms with the authority.
Harris said the proposed project would contain approximately "70 to 75" housing units and that the developer typically commits to long-term ownership and compliance covenants. "Our goal would be as we would be submitting for tax credits. That application will be due in May," Harris said. He described rents in his company's recent projects as ranging "somewhere around $900 for a one-bedroom unit up to ... $1,800, dollars 19 hundred a month" for three-bedroom units. Harris also described the project as mixed-income and mixed-use, with about 20% market-rate units and some retail space.
During the presentation, a board member asked whether the authority would sell parcels or approve other terms; Harris said the developer would need to acquire parcels the authority owns and that the parties could include reversion or development‑completion clauses to protect the authority if the project was not built within an agreed period. Harris said the tax-credit program requires a 30‑year covenanted compliance period and that tax-credit projects must hold units to income-restricted tenants or otherwise keep units off-market until a qualified tenant is found.
The developer offered to arrange site visits to comparable completed projects and to provide example documentation and renderings; Harris said renderings would be provided in executive session. The board took no vote to sell or convey property in open session; the meeting moved into executive session later to discuss real estate matters.
The developer described target households as working‑class or "workforce" tenants and referenced an income eligibility level during remarks; the presenter used the phrase "6% of AMI" when describing target income during the public remarks. The transcript wording on the income-percentage reference is unclear and the authority did not specify exact income limits at the meeting.
No acquisition terms, purchase price, or formal agreements were approved in open session, and the board did not take a public vote on the developer's proposal during this meeting.
