The Second Time Around: Historic Minneapolis Housing Complex Under Redevelopment With Fresh Tax Credits

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Tax Credit Advisor — June 2011 — As he oversees his biggest project ever, Minneapolis developer George Sherman is living out one of Yogi Berra’s old lines — It’s déjà vu all over again. “Our first experience with low-income housing tax credits was on this same project — Riverside Plaza — in 1988. We acquired it through a negotiated sale from HUD, which had foreclosed on it. And we did a bond transaction using four percent credits. We got a whopping 50 cents per credit dollar [in equity], paid over a couple years.” This time around, Sherman’s outfit, Sherman Associates, is re-syndicating and redeveloping the massive housing project — 1,303 units in 11 buildings occupying four city blocks — using various tax credits and other resources. “Hopefully we’ll be done by October 2012,” says Sherman. The $132 million project will involve more than $60 million in renovations to the complex, which has about 4,500 residents, including a number of college students. Work includes replacing the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems; sealing the exterior of the buildings; installing new windows and doors; refurbishing all of the apartments and common areas; and other improvements. Nearly 90% of the apartments will be LIHTC units; the rest market-rate.