SEYMOUR — A Columbus-based organization is moving ahead with plans to construct a 64-unit affordable apartment complex for residents 55 and older in Seymour.
Thrive Alliance has announced they have received a $1.2 million allocation of low-income state housing tax credits that will enable construction of the $12.5 million Crossroads Village complex.
When the project was proposed early last year, city officials were told rent costs were expected to be between $525 and $700 per unit. The housing will be income-based, so there is a range that a tenant would have to be within to qualify, according to Thrive Alliance Executive Director Mark Lindenlaub.
One of the biggest hurdles the project has faced is that the proposed 2.2-acre site at 500 S. Poplar St. was contaminated from its former uses as the Seymour Woolen Mill and later Seymour Electronics.
Environmental investigations of the property began in 2006 when contaminants, including petroleum and chlorinated solvents, were discovered in the soil and later in the groundwater. In 2015, environmental cleanup and remediation began.
As they have for projects such as the Gateway Apartments in Columbus, Thrive Alliance is teaming up with the Ohio-based Jonesboro Investments Corp. to develop the Crossroads Village complex.
Last year, Jonesboro President Tim Morgan said an extensive environmental cleanup, as well as the installation of a storm water management system that meets city engineering requirements, would be necessary before Crossroads Village could advance.
But Morgan also called the cleanup “doable,” saying it isn’t much different from the extensive cleanup of the former Golden Casting plant in Columbus that his company completed.
Crossroads Village, which should be completed sometime in 2022, will be located about a block south of Schneck Medical Center. That close proximity should result in medical benefits for elderly tenants, according to a Thrive Alliance news release.
Plans have been made to provide residents with on-site access to health screenings, health education and counseling services, as well as nutrition education, dementia care and other services that support healthy lifestyles, Lindenlaub said.
Officials in Jackson County have been aware of the project for several months. In June, the Seymour City Council voted to provide tax abatement for the project, as well as invest $51,000 in local funding to install new sidewalks around the property.
Besides providing a new housing option for seniors, Crossroads Village will also support the ongoing revitalization and redevelopment efforts in Seymour, according to Executive Director Jacob Sipe of the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. It was Sipe’s organization that issued the tax credits.
