Common Council Approves Government Subsidized Housing Plan

As expected, the Franklin Common Council on Tuesday approved the concept review plan for the construction of a 30-unit apartment building for seniors, located just off South 51st Street in Franklin's District 3.  The plan was submitted by Minneapolis-based CommonBond Communities, the Midwest's largest nonprofit provider of affordable housing with services.  Construction on the project is expected to begin by early fall.  A spokesman for CommonBond said the project has financing through a $4 million federal grant.  Although the property is, by state statute, exempt from property tax, Joel Dietl, Franklin’s Planning Manager reported to the Council that in lieu of paying full roperty taxes, CommonBond had agreed to pay fees equal to the City’s portion of the property taxes on this property.

In a March 24 email response to several questions posed by THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, CommonBond representative Joseph Schwenker confirmed that CommonBond rents are based on 30% of the income level of the resident and that CommonBond has senior communities in MN, IA and WI.  Wisconsin, has by statute, complete tax exemption for properties held by nonprofit organizations like CommonBond and two of CommonBond’s 5 properties in Wisconsin qualify for this exemption which allows CommonBond to keep rents even more  affordable to residents who live on social security or other small fixed incomes.  

According to its website, CommonBond:

• Develops, owns or manages 5,000 affordable rental apartments and townhomes throughout 50 cities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

• Close to 8,000 people; families, seniors, and people with disabilities and other barriers, call CommonBond home.
• More than 2,000 of these individuals are children.
• On average, resident household income is $14,000 a year.

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