Will the Hutchinson City Council go along with a development plan for the Commerce Gardens Apartments to redevelop the property.

The local housing commission said okay, but Investment Resources Corporation, a real estate development company who specializes in affordable housing now wants the council to endorse them getting tax credits so they can remove some of the current structures and replace them with 70-apartment units which would operate under a housing assistance contract. The redeveloped site will include multiple two story buildings with full lower level and upper level units, allowing the lower units to be accessible. The current configuration does not meet accessibility requirements with stairs to the entrance of the unit, as well as stairs within the units to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

They also plan to construct a new community building and amenities such as bar-b-cue grill areas, playground, bike racks, etc.

This would basically update the apartment development on 11th Street at 1801 Lyman, near the Hutchinson Mall which has been around since 1971.

Developers say they will use of variety of funding sources for the project including a HUD insured loan, federal housing tax credits and other grant funds. They say the use of these funds will insure that the project will remain available to low and moderate income tenants and provide affordable housing for the existing and new residents of the community.

They will ask the city council for consideration of endorsing their effort in seeking tax credits through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. for the project.

That will come sometime in the near future.