Commissioners vote to support housing efforts

By Beverly Bryant/News Director

Ponca City’s Board of Commiissioners approved a resolution of support Monday night for the proposed 48-unit Community Place Apartment developments in Ponca City’s historic downtown district.

The Community Place project includes total renovation of the Community Building on the northwest corner of Third Street and Grand Avenue into 12 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments with common areas on the lower levels, including a community room, computer room, safe room and fitness center.

The second part of this project is construction of a new apartment building on Fourth Street between Cleveland Avenue and Chestnut Avenue. This also would be a 24-unit complex of two-bedroom apartments.

The developer for the project is MACO of Clarkton, Mo.

Development Services Director Chris Henderson said the downtown project would be a $6 million investment.

Commissioners also approved a resolution of support for MACO to purchase and rehabilitate Copper Ridge Apartments at 1515 West Highland. This would be a $2 million project with the company spending an average of $35,000 per unit to renovate the complex.

The rehabilitation would make it possible for Copper Ridge to continue as an affordable housing complex. The complex was built 15 years ago with a grant from the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency and its time as an affordable housing complex expires at the end of that grant.

All of these projects depend on MACO being approved for housing and historic tax credits from OHFA. Approval of these resolutions was a key element of submitting an application for the tax credit funding.

MACO will submit an application for the projects to OHFA in January but will not know if funding is approved until May. If approved, construction would not begin before January 2017.

As part of the resolution for the Community Building project, commissioners approved leasing 10 parking places on the east side of the building to the company for use by the tenants.

The apartments are all designated for residents age 62 and older who qualify on the basis of income for the reduced rents.