The Lycoming County Commissioners are expected to approve a formality Thursday that will allow another county to issue a tax-exempt bond that paves the way for acquisition and renovation of Newberry Estates, 2500 Federal Ave.
A public meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday for the project, which is being financed in part with bonds issued from the Berks County Industrial Development Authority.
The 200-unit apartment complex in the city's west end would be purchased by Silver Street Development Corp., an investment group in Portland, Maine.
According to information provided by a law firm representing the company, Silver Street, founded in 1996, owns about 9,800 affordable housing units.
The cost of the project, which includes about $6 million in private investment, is expected not to exceed $18.5 million.
Newberry Estates, constructed in 1974, has not been rehabilitated since that time and "most of its original components are in need of replacement to preserve the building's long-term viability," according to documents from Stevens & Lee, a legal and consulting firm from Reading.
The bond financing does not obligate Lycoming County to the project.
The apartment complex will continue to be managed by Community Realty Management, Plainfield, N.J.
Commissioners need to approve the plan due to Internal Revenue Service regulations, said Ramiro M. Carbonell, an attorney with Stevens & Lee.
The firm said the investment group was not able to find an issuer of low-income housing tax-exempt bonds within Lycoming County, but chose Berks County as an alternate.
Commissioners also will review its 2012 Community Development Block Grant funding worth $251,254. Kim Wheeler, county community development planner, said the money will be spent on STEP Inc. residential programs, Franklin Township water and sewer projects and accessibility upgrades at the YWCA, 815 W. Fourth St.
