Lincoln Homes redevelopment first phases to begin in July, finish by September

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Housing Authority this week heard the latest updates on the redevelopment of Lincoln Homes, with one commissioner expressing concern about how tight the deadlines have become.

CHA Housing Development Corporation President Dawn Sanders-Garrett, also the former interim executive director of CHA, addressed the board on Wednesday.

CHA recently had two 9% tax credits approved for the redevelopment of Lincoln Homes, which will cover phase one and phase two of the project. “51 units in phase one and 56 units in phase two for a total of 107 units,” Garrett said. “The community center will need to be attached to a phase. … It depends on the capital stack and additional fundraising efforts; the development team could yield a source for the community center.”

Garrett said it’s estimated the community center will cost over $1 million, and she said it will act as a tornado shelter as well. She said that if the project were to fall short on full funding for phases one and two, the community center would be the piece removed.

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“We have to have a one-for-one replacement of housing units,” she said. “We will have at least 212 units on the site when all of the phases are completed. But we know we have the capacity to do more than that, so we will look at doing some other units, whether that’s home ownership, or other types of apartments, we have the ability to do that in future phases.”

Garrett said they are currently working toward the HUD concept call for the Lincoln Homes redevelopment, and the information has to be submitted by today, March 20.

What about moving Lincoln Homes residents?

Once the plan is approved, the Housing Authority will work with the families in Lincoln Homes to get them relocated. “We’ve talked about the ability for us to do it all at one time, or if we will do it section by section,” Garrett said.

That decision will be decided based on the needs of the residents, she said. They will try to identify units within the Housing Authority first, then, if needed, they’ll look over the relocation budget to see what can be accommodated if they need to go to the open market.

When the relocation specialists meet with the residents, they will go over each and every option for relocation. Every resident has the right to return, and CHA will work with them to make it happen, said Garrett.

CHA Executive Director Wanda Allen said that if they do need to go to the open market, temporary vouchers can be requested for families.

Credit-swap an option as last result

Garrett expects to have the call with HUD sometime around the week of March 30. “As soon as we have the concept call, we should be able to submit our financing plan.”

Commissioner Bill Summers said he’s concerned about the timing of the project with the 15-month construction schedule. Garrett said the schedule is tight, but there is an opportunity for CHA to perform a credit-swap as a last resort, if needed, which would then extend the time period for construction to be completed.

“It looks damn near impossible,” Summers replied. “Are we kidding ourselves? Like I said, that means you have to start construction basically in June for all intents and purposes to be done by September (2027).”

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Commissioner Wayne Wilkinson said it is possible for the project to remain on schedule, and CHA attorney Brad Gilmore said there has also been conversations about expediting the process with HUD.

“There was talk about condensing the construction schedule (too), so you know I don’t think we’re at the impossible stage yet,” Gilmore said.

Aiming to close in July, buffer in place in case of delays

Garrett said they are aiming to close sometime in July, which would still allow the project to meet the milestone. “But initially, when we started this process before road abandonment, we were at June 15,” she said. Garrett said there’s a chance the closing date could be moved earlier, or even later, it just depends on HUD.

Gilmore said a construction buffer has been placed at the end of the project to deal with any delays.

“The investor does not want to lose their ability to collect on their credits,” said Allen. “So, they want a buffer that says, ‘We want to be done by this date, but just in case there are delays, we can still get it done before the developer loses their opportunity.'”

Wilkinson said the positive thing is, with a project like this, it’s minimal site development which should help expedite things.

Garrett also said to remember there’s some select site demolition and some gut rehab. “We’re having both, and we’re having to, so we’re trying to ramp them up so that they happen alongside one another to minimize some of the delays,” she said.

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