A pair of Regional Cities projects proposed for the City of Plymouth may soon be getting city funding, following action by the Common Council Monday. Council members voted four-to-two to appropriate $1.5 million from the city’s Rainy Day Fund to a public-private partnership to develop the South Gateway apartment project.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi says the investment in downtown housing is something the city’s been preparing for a while, “$1.3 million of that is funds that were placed in the Rainy Day in 2013 by the previous council with unanimous support earmarked for projects like this, back when the city was considering and had applied for the Stellar Communities program.”
On top of that, the $11.5 million project will also receive about $1.4 million from the Regional Cities Initiative. The plan calls for the construction of a 60-unit apartment complex on the south bank of the Yellow River, east of Michigan Street. Much of that land is currently owned by the city, but some of it is occupied by homes.
Surrisi says the apartments are meant to attract skilled workers to the area. “The developer describes his apartments that he has in Mishawaka as ‘middle-class plus,’ and he said a couple that is earning $50,000 a year or an individual that’s earning $50,000 a year could afford these,” Surrisi said. “They are a little bit nicer than any multifamily development that we currently have in the marketplace here in Plymouth.”
Additionally, the council added its approval to action taken by the Plymouth Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission to create an Economic Development Area that will include the new apartment complex, as well as River Park Square. City Attorney Sean Surrisi says that this will allow for the creation of a TIF district, following some additional steps. That would help fund additional phases of River Park Square, according to the plan.
During a public hearing on the additional appropriations, a few residents voiced concerns about the plan, mainly about the specific type of development for that location and the expected costs for the city. Voting against both resolutions were council members Gary Cook and Shiloh Fonseca. Shawn Grobe was absent from Monday’s meeting.
The Plymouth Common Council also approved the Plan and Redevelopment commissions’ resolutions to add the proposed Marshall County Wellness and Life Enrichment Center to an existing Economic Development Area. The proposed project would include an eight-to-10 lane swimming pool and an indoor/outdoor soccer complex, among other facilities. Surrisi says the measure could eventually lead to $2.2 million in city funding for the project, raised through the sale of bonds, as well as $100,000 in drainage improvements. Another $2 million for the project will come from Regional Cities funding.
For both projects, the Regional Cities funding from the state, as well as the city funding, are considered a way to jump start private investment in the community.
