MANSFIELD — A 120-unit affordable housing project on Mansfield’s southwest side has hit its biggest snag yet.
The Ohio Housing Financing Agency is poised to withdraw $7.7 million in bond gap financing from the Turtle Creek extension project, which aims to construct additional apartments on James Avenue.
OHFA awarded the Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority $7.7 million in bond gap financing for the project in October 2022. The Turtle Creek Extension project has since faced delays due to environmental regulations and issues securing the developer’s share of project funding.
MMHA Director Steve Andrews said the agency’s co-developer, Tober Development Company, has faced delays on another affordable housing project in Akron. Those delays are holding up Tober’s share of the project funds — approximately $6.6 million.
“Because that didn’t close on time, that messed some things up for them, they were not able to close our (project) and get our final application into OHFA,” Andrews said.
Andrews said the bond gap financing is being withdrawn due to project delays, since OHFA funds have to be spent by a certain date.
Nevertheless, the MMHA director said he’s working to find out what it would take to move the project forward and possibly reclaim the funds.
“What can we salvage out of this deal, I don’t know yet. I’ve got calls into OHFA,” Andrews said.
“At this point, I’m scrambling to just get as much information as we can. We just don’t know, how bad is this going to set us back? Have they already allocated this money to somebody else?”
Housing director hopes to ‘salvage’ project with a new developer
Andrews said he found out about the OHFA funding withdrawal last week. He told MMHA board members Tuesday he hopes the authority can reclaim the bond gap financing by finding another developer to take over the project.
“We’ve already been in contact with other developers. I’ve got four developers who we’ve already sent the prospectus to,” Andrews said. “They’d like to sit down as soon as possible.”
The City of Mansfield committed $650,000 in HOME-ARP funding to the project, according to Adrian Ackerman, the city’s director of permitting and development. The commitment is conditional on the MMHA securing the remaining funding necessary for the project.
However, the deadline to expend HOME-ARP funds isn’t until September 2030. Ackerman also said the city may be able to provide additional funding.
“The City does have other HOME funding that could be made available to fill a portion of the gap (with council approval),” Ackerman said via email.
“We certainly do not have the funds available to mitigate the entire loss (of OHFA funds), and there would be additional reporting requirements for Turtle Creek if additional funds were added.”
Ackerman said she is “reserving disappointment” and hopes the project is merely facing a bump in the road.
“I am certainly not ready to consider the project a loss,” she said. “I am willing to work with Steve (Andrews) on any options the City may have available.”
Andrews said the authority had to return $300,000 to the Richland County Foundation because of a missed deadline, but the foundation encouraged him to reapply for funding.
“We have a very good relationship with them,” he told the board.
The MMHA is also set to contribute approximately $1.5 million of its own funding toward the project.
‘We are still fully committed housing development’
The proposed Turtle Creek extension project would be located on James Avenue next to a 158-unit senior apartment complex, Turtle Creek.
The planned expansion includes 70 two-bedroom units and 50 three-bedrooms units.
If the project moves forward as planned, 102 units will be rented to households earning 60 percent of the area’s average median income or less. The remaining 18 units will be reserved for those making 30 percent or less of the average median income.
Andrews said if it’s not possible to salvage the project in full, the agency may scale down the project or simply start over with a new developer.
“We are still fully committed to housing development,” Andrews said. “We are going to make that happen in one form or fashion, one way or another.”
Richland Source attempted to contact Tober Development for this story, but was unsuccessful. We also contacted the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
