RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) –An affordable housing project is moving forward in Rapid City thanks in part to Tax Increment Finances.
Which is a tool the city uses to pay for improvements to a development.
This week paved the way for the Camden Heights apartment project to move into its final phase before construction begins.
“It does help with the housing needs in the community. Because as Rapid continues to grow at a pretty quick pace that is bringing rental opportunities to Rapid City. It’s also bringing affordable single family homes to the community as well,” Tax Increment Finance Planner Mike Dugan said.
“Our developers, our contractors, our business folks and commercial folks. It’s been a priority that we need to do something about housing so they kind of laser focus on trying to develop more housing. Whether it’s workforce housing, affordable housing or low income housing,” Communications Coordinator Darrell Shoemaker said.
The Camden Heights apartment complex is also going to have a small solar farm right nearby for the complex. That is going to help out to alleviate some of the financially responsibility and burden for all the utilities the residents in the housing will be using.
This apartment complex will feature 252 one to four bedroom units with 51 of them being designed for senior living.
“The idea behind it was, it does bring down the monthly cost due to utilities to make next to nothing for this project. So that just further helps keeping down the monthly rent and monthly expenses of each unit,” Dugan said.
The project is lowering the income threshold from 80% to 60% of the median income, allowing more people to live in the development.
The Tax Increment Finance has been used since the early 80s in Rapid City with 92 projects in total once these two projects get through the finalization process.
