Alliance Apartment Complex Getting New Owner

Within months, residents in the 60-unit Nantucket Circle Apartments complex can expect to be shuffled out of their homes as a major renovation project unfolds.

A Wilmington, Del.,-based corporation, Leon N. Weiner & Associates, is in the process of purchasing the apartment complex of affordable-housing units. The developer will be Renewal Housing Associates, an affiliate of Leon N. Weiner & Associates.

“We are in the process of acquiring and renovating the Nantucket Circle Apartments,” said Max Friedman, development associate for Leon N. Weiner & Associates. “We expect to acquire the property in January. We hold an option to buy the property. We hold all the financing to do it.”

That financing includes $6.6 million in tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. Cost of the entire endeavor is projected at $8 million. That includes the price of the apartment complex and the renovations.

“We have a conventional mortgage making up most of the rest of it,” Friedman said. “It is considered low-income housing. Everyone there is under 60 percent of the area median income.”

Renovation Work

Current owner is the Orleans Company of the Cleveland area.

“All 60 (units) are undergoing significant renovations,” Friedman said. “They are in need. There are a number of things that are past their useful life. It is just wear and tear on property. I would say the main things would be new HVAC (heating, venting, and air conditioning) units, water heaters, windows and vinyl-plank flooring in addition to appliances and cabinets.”

Nantucket Circle Apartments complex is in the northwest corner of the city, north of W. Vine Street and west of Klinger Avenue. The complex, in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Nantucket Circle, dates back to the early 1970s. The new owner’s plans to renovate the apartment units sits well with city officials.

“We see that too often in Alliance,” said Joe Mazzola, city director of planning and development. “An investor buys rental property and doesn’t put anything into it. To have these units renovated is just wonderful.”

Within the complex, eight of the units are one bedroom single-story. The others are two- or three-bedroom two-story townhouses. The complex has a rental-subsidy housing choice voucher, also known as Section 8, contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Typically, the resident will pay 30 percent of their gross income,” Friedman said.

Temporary Move

When the apartment renovations occur, residents will be temporarily relocated.

“We do on-site relocation,” Friedman said. “People are out of their units for about four weeks. But they are relocated to an on-site hospitality unit. We hold those units vacant through the renovation process. The whole process takes about 10 months. We will be starting in February. And we are also building a community building that will be 1,200 square feet. That includes a fitness room, a manager’s office and community space. The project offers a good return on our investment. We are required to own this for at least 15 years through the tax credit program.”

There will be four hospitality units to accommodate the temporary relocation of tenants. Leon N. Weiner & Associates specializes in developing housing for low-income people and the elderly.

“We welcome anybody that wants to invest in Alliance,” city Safety-Service Director Michael Dreger said. “You see in a lot of places people buy an asset just to make money off it for the rest of its useful life. They’re reinvigorating and reinvesting for a lot longer life. They are in it for the long term. And that is what we want.”