Affordable-housing units planned near Smokies Stadium | News

SEVIERVILLE -- One proposed development consisting of 96 units in Sevier County made it through the application process to become a project in the state's 2017 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. It was the only proposed project in Sevier County to make the list, which included a special Sevier County disaster relief category. The project will bring 96 apartments to Lenz Drive, which is located near Smokies Stadium.

The LIHTC program, which is administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, scores and ranks initial applicants across the state. Glade Pointe was the only Sevier County project included on the rankings list released on Aug. 17 by THDA officials. A memorandum released late Thursday identified 22 projects across the state as finalists and said that "reservation notices will be issued as soon as possible" and that "underwriting is still underway."

The 96-unit Sevier County apartment complex on the Aug. 17 list is identified as a new construction project named Glade Pointe. Of the total 22 projects that advanced in the statewide application process, 12 finalists are new construction and 10 are rehabilitation projects. Glade Pointe requested an allocation of $841,721. The highest amount requested by any project was $1.1 million, and the lowest was $182,194. Four projects each requested $1.1 million in allocations from the state, while an apartment complex in Putnam County requested an allocation of $182,194 for rehabilitation.

In May, The Mountain Press reported that six Sevier County developments had been submitted to THDA for consideration in the 2017 LIHTC program. Only Glade Pointe in Sevier County made the list of finalists that will receive funding. Developer Gary Hall of Hall Housing, which is headquartered in Alabama, said in an Aug. 18 interview that he had just received notification that his project was selected by THDA representatives. "I got that myself today," he said of the notification.

Asked why he believes his proposal was chosen of the six Sevier County projects submitted this spring, Hall said his experience in the multifamily housing industry helped his application.

"I've been doing it (developing) for over 30 years," he said. "I've done over 4,000 units. I give a good product." Hall said that all of his projects are affordable housing rather than market-rate apartments. His other complexes include Gists Creek Apartments in Sevier County, as well as developments in Clinton, Lenoir City and Sweetwater.

All of the apartments in Glade Pointe will be two- and three-bedroom units, Hall said. Monthly rental fees will range from approximately $600 to $700. "We ought to be charging $1,000 to $1,200 a month, but because of THDA we can charge $600 or $700 a month," Hall said. Glade Pointe buildings will be brick, and the complex will include laundry facilities and a clubhouse with community room.

Patricia Smith, director of communications for THDA, said on Friday that the finalists are in the process of completing all requirements to receive funding. "These are the properties we expect to fund after any questions have been resolved," she said. There is not a specific date established yet for developers to receive their requested allocations.

Hall anticipates breaking ground on Glade Pointe in approximately 6-12 months. Applicants to the LIHTC program do not have to own the property on which the development is proposed. Hall said he has Lenz Drive property for the development under contract.

"It's at least a year away before anyone can move in," he said. Once he breaks ground, Hall estimated it will take another 7-9 months to complete construction of the 96 units.

"I'm really proud that we're getting it," Hall added, saying that additional rental units in the area became even more crucial after the November 2016 fires damaged or destroyed 2,545 structures across Sevier County. Of those 2,545 structures, 2,449 were residences and 2,175 were classified as destroyed.

According to the May list of applicants provided by THDA, there were 39 statewide applicants for the 2017 LIHTC program. Sevier County led the state with six applications, all for new low-income housing developments. If all six projects had been approved, it would have meant 441 new units for Sevier County - 76 in Gatlinburg and 365 in Sevierville.

The project name, location and number of units of the other five Sevier County applicants were:

Watson Glades, 849 Glades Road and Watson Drive, Gatlinburg - 76 units

Douglas Greene, Snyder Road in the 12th Civil District, Sevierville - 80 units

Forest Cove LP, 1119 Glennhill Lane, Sevierville - 73 units

Gateview Ridge Apartments, 1415 Avery Lane, Sevierville - 96 units

Riverside Village, East Hardin Lane, Sevierville - 20 units

Since it was first established by the federal Tax Reform Act of 1986, the LIHTC program has resulted in approximately 2.4 million affordable housing units being constructed or rehabilitated in the United States.

Interviewed by The Mountain Press in May, Smith summarized the housing program and its impact on communities. "The LIHTC program, developed while Ronald Reagan was president, is the only federally supported program for production of affordable rental housing," she said. "Developers read the qualified allocation plan developed by the board, make their application following the requirements, receive an allocation if successful and build needed housing."

Information about THDA's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program is available at www.thda.org.