Milwaukee developer Josh Jeffers is getting federal tax credits to help his project to restore a former furniture company building in Racine’s Uptown neighborhood and convert the building into 77 units of rental housing.
Jeffers first announced the $19 million project in fall 2017, but was waiting on Low Income Affordable Housing Tax Credits from WHEDA before moving forward.
He recently learned he was awarded $620,000 in the federal tax credits and plans to move forward with the project in spring 2019.
“There’s a substantial economic impact for the 65 families at Gold Medal Lofts that will pay affordable rental rates rather than market rates,” said WHEDA executive director Wyman Winston said in a written statement “The residents will collectively save $390,000 per year, with a total savings of $5.9 million over 15 years, allowing them greater independent saving and spending decisions to make.”
The redevelopment involves a complete rehabilitation of Racine’s former Gold Medal Furniture building at 1701 Packard Ave. It will include one, two and three-bedroom units. Of those, 65 will be affordable housing units and 12 market-rate apartments.
State and federal historic tax credits will be used to preserve the character of the building. J. Jeffers & Co. and Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin are developing the project.
This is one of two housing projects Jeffers, president of J. Jeffers & Co., is planning in Racine.
In June, Jeffers purchased three buildings at 2100 and 2200 Northwestern Ave. for a combined 246,000 square feet plus an additional 8 acres of vacant land.
The buildings are a gateway to the 13-building Horlick Industrial Historic District site.
Jeffers is planning to work on the project in multiple phases, with the first phase being 80 to 90 predominantly affordable housing units in one of the existing buildings. Over the next decade, the project at the Horlick site could grow to 400 units of affordable and market rate apartments.
