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Nonprofit's Landlord Bid

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By LENORA LAKE

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 16, 2008

UNIVERSITY AREA - The county's affordable housing office will recommend that the University Area Community Development Corp. receive a $1.47 million loan to assist it in purchasing an apartment complex.

Shadowood Apartments, 12733 N. 19th St., has 24 units, and 16 must be designated for residents whose rents will be subsidized by federal funds, said Marcia Mask, acting executive planner with the Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Office. The income of those residents in the 16 subsidized units must fall at or below 60 percent of the area's median income.

Julian Garcia, executive director of the development corporation, which works to improve the community west of the University of South Florida, said his nonprofit organization will spend about $1.5 million to purchase the apartments and $350,000 to renovate them.

The renovations will include painting, flooring and cabinets. He expects to keep the tenants in the buildings and will work about a year on inspecting and improving the individual units.

Garcia said the development corporation has wanted to offer affordable housing for several years, "but we had to have the necessary capital, and the real estate market had to be right. We thought the time was now."

He said the corporation chose Shadowood because it was on the market and was near several other new or refurbished apartments on 131st Avenue between 19th Street and 20th Street.

The development corporation also is negotiating to buy Rainbow Apartments on 138th Avenue near 22nd Street.

In October 2006, the Hillsborough County commissioners approved a plan for the development corporation to buy the land with county money for about $3.8 million. The development corporation would operate the 72-unit apartment complex until it is demolished and construction of a community library begins, probably in 2011 or 2012. The development corporation would receive a 4 percent management fee.

That fee - as well as revenue generated by owning and operating the Shadowood Apartments - would be used for redevelopment of the community, Garcia said.

County staff will recommend to the Hillsborough County commissioners the awarding of the Shadowood loan at a public hearing at 2 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Frederick B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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