City Beat: Council approves Harmony House development plan

Harmony was in the air – at least until the first reading bills.

In a rare demonstration of solidarity, Springfield City Council members unanimously approved every bill up for a vote at the Aug. 10 council meeting including one zoning measure that forwards plans for a 46-unit affordable-housing complex at the corner of South Scenic Avenue and West Delmar Street.  

“We come to these meetings and vote on rezoning issues at every meeting. They are very routine. But this one? It will be an honor to support this one,” said Councilwoman Jan Fisk, one of four councilmembers to voice approval for nonprofit Harmony House’s transitional housing plans.

Dubbed the Angelou Apartments, Harmony House is partnering with The Vecino Group to develop 10 one-bedroom apartments and 36 two- and three-bedroom units, with access codes and secure parking behind privacy gates.

The project – which has yet to secure funding – would help fill a need for long-term, safe housing for women and children leaving Harmony House’s domestic-violence shelter at 519 E. Cherry St. Executive Director Lisa Farmer has said the 90- to 120-day shelter typically runs at capacity because those utilizing the services often have no affordable, safe options.

Organized under Family Violence Center Inc., the shelter turned away over 2,300 individuals last year, up from roughly 500 in 2010. 

In the partnership, The Vecino Group would serve as developer and minority owner, while majority owner Harmony House would manage the complex.

To fund the multimillion-dollar apartments, officials plan to rely solely on sale proceeds of low-income housing tax credits, which the developers are pursuing through the Missouri Housing Development Commission. Applications are due in mid-September, and approvals are expected in December.

With funding in place, Farmer said construction could begin early next year. The project is expected to free up room at the shelter.

“I am very proud to be on the council tonight to be able to vote in favor of this,” Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson said at the meeting, noting an overcrowded shelter remains a problem. “We still need to address (overcrowding), so that women who are in fear for their lives and their children’s lives have a place to go and feel safe.”

A capital campaign is underway, and Farmer has said a new shelter with 160 beds – above the current 110 – could be in the nonprofit’s future.  

Loan programs modified
Council also unanimously moved to modify two city loan programs to making them more attractive to borrowers.

One measure changes the name of the Small Business Development Loan Program to the Commercial Loan Program and expands its footprint citywide. The other reduces interest rates in the Brownfields Program Revolving Loan Fund.

“I’m excited to see these changes. My family has been in small business since the 1950s, and I think anything we can do to help them – new businesses – to establish their operations is great,” Councilman Justin Burnett said ahead of votes for both bills.

Capitalized by the federal Community Development Block Program to remove blight and further U.S. Housing and Urban Development projects, the small-business program since 1984 has issued 225 commercial loans exceeding $30 million.

With $3.5 million in lending income still available, the bill expands the program’s service area to encompass the entire city. It previously targeted center city businesses. Springfield Planning & Development Director Mary Lilly Smith has said a name change would better define the program because some projects have no connection to small businesses.

Terms were adjusted, as well. The interest rate is now tied to the prime rate used by banks. Previously, the city couldn’t offer rates below 5 percent, which Smith said limited borrowers’ interests because they often could secure better terms through banks.

Now, the program offers a rate half of prime, plus 1 percent. With prime at 3.25 percent last week, according to BankRate.com, the city’s Commercial Loan Program could offer a 2.63 percent interest loan, or 2.13 percent interest on a loan for a developer who pays the prevailing wage.

The brownfields fund, which was established in 2009 via a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency grant to support cleanup loans for businesses, has garnered two loans and five subgrants to date.

The program, which was recapitalized, has about $1 million available to loan. The brownfields fund now can offer no-interest terms for up to five years, instead of two years; 2 percent interest between years five and 10, instead of 3 percent; and 3 percent interest from 10 to 15 years, instead of 6 percent.

Loren Cook Co. expansion
Loren Cook Co. is adding to its 325,000 square feet of manufacturing space at Dale Street and Barnes Avenue with a council rezoning request in hand.

Council rezoned two vacant residential lots and a parking lot to heavy manufacturing west of the company’s sprawling 2015 E. Dale St. building. The manufacturer of industrial blowers and exhaust systems plans to build a 7,000-square-foot expansion and consolidate offices.

Anderson Engineering Inc. President Neil Brady, who represented Cook Co. during the public hearing, said no immediate plans were in place to hire additional employees.

“They are renting some facilities across the street, so they are going to merge all of those people into this building addition,” Brady said at a public hearing last month.