City leaders have given initial approval to designate vacant land on State Street as an economic revitalization area where a proposed affordable assisted-living facility may be built.
Columbus City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution giving 1971 State St. the revitalization area designation. The council will consider a final vote on the designation at its Sept. 4 meeting, said Robin Hilber, community development programs coordinator with the city.
The Marian Group, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has proposed building a four-story, 114-unit building known as Vivera Senior Living on the site. Under plans by the firm, the nearly $14.5 million project will bring 52 efficiency units and 62 one-bedroom units in a 84,500-square-foot facility.
The 2.37-acre site on State Street, formerly used as the Bartholomew County Annex before being torn down in December 2015, was purchased by Vivera Senior Living of Columbus LLC, a subsidiary of The Marian Group, Aug. 8 from Columbus Regional Hospital for $520,000.
Hilber appeared before council members on Tuesday with Matthew Carr, a partner with the Quarles & Brady law firm in Indianapolis, representing The Marian Group. Hilber said the council will consider a separate resolution for a tax abatement being sought by the company during its Sept. 4 meeting.
If the tax abatement is granted, it could save the company about $557,000 over a 10-year period, Hilber said.
The apartment units through Vivera Senior Living will be made available to eligible seniors whose income is at or below 60 percent of the average median income, said Jacob Brown, founder and principal of The Marian Group. That would mean someone’s income would have to be at or below $34,200 to live in the complex.
The development will create 45 full-time jobs and 14 part-time jobs, according to the company’s tax abatement application.
City officials were first approached about the project in July and agreed to issue up to $15.5 million in revenue bonds to fund it. The revenue bonds from the city, along with non-competitive tax credits from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, will help finance the project, Carr said.
A first reading of an ordinance tied to issuing the revenue bonds will be considered by the council Sept. 4 with a final reading planned Oct. 2. If approved, the bonds would finance 70 percent of the project, while the remainder would be covered by the tax credits from the IHCDA, Carr said.
Carr said after the meeting that The Marian Group expects to receive final approval from the IHCDA board about the tax credits Sept. 27. The company hopes to begin construction on the project in late October with the facility set to open in January 2020.
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The Vivera Senior Living project will go before the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals during its 6:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St., to seek conditional use approval and a development standards variance for the property at 1971 State St.
The Marian Group, which is overseeing the project, will also go before the council during its 6 p.m. Sept. 4 meeting seeking approval of a tax abatement. The council will also consider taking final action on designating land at 1971 State St. as an economic revitalization area at the Sept. 4 meeting. A resolution for a tax abatement will also be considered, along with the first reading of an ordinance for the issuance of up to $15.5 million in revenue bonds for the project.
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