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Council hears plea to extend Orchard Club Apartments PILOT to preserve 99 affordable units
Summary
Orchard Club — a 196-unit complex in Elkridge — is requesting a 15-year extension of its payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement; county housing staff and the developer said the extension would preserve 99 affordable units and align the local and state extended-use periods.
Howard County housing officials and the property developer told the council on Oct. 20 that extending a local payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement for Orchard Club Apartments would preserve nearly half the property’s units at below-market rents.
Kelly Simino, director of Housing and Community Development, said Orchard Club is a 196-unit project that has served low- and moderate-income households since 1991 and is seeking a 15-year extension of its existing PILOT to preserve 99 affordable units. The county's extended use agreement with the state currently runs through 2031; the developer seeks coterminous coverage to 2040 so the units remain affordable beyond the existing state expiration.
Robert DeSantis, representing Orchard Development Corporation, said the property was an early low-income housing tax credit project in the county and that the pilot extension is “necessary to continue to offer the affordable units for families in Howard County.” He said Orchard Club would continue to lease 99 units to low- and moderate-income households if the county approves the extension.
Council members asked technical questions about the agreement’s legal enforceability, the interaction between the local PILOT and state extended-use covenant, and applicant outreach and wait-list practices. HCD staff said the local PILOT records the local commitment and that the owner would pursue a state extended-use agreement to match the PILOT extension.
What happens next: The county council received testimony and may take up the PILOT extension in a subsequent legislative session; no final vote was recorded at the public hearing.
