By Eric Curl
March 8, 2023 – The property’s new owner is not giving up on plans to construct affordable housing on former city property, despite two failed attempts to obtain state low-income housing tax credits for the project.
The Pinyan/Procida Development Group recently submitted for review a site development plan to construct the planned 42-unit complex at 1700 Drayton St., which the city sold to the development group for $750,000 in 2021.
Mario Procida, with the development group, said on Monday that the site plan was submitted to get the project “permit ready”, but that construction of the planned 42-unit affordable apartment complex is dependent on the awarding of the tax credits.
“Otherwise, we can’t make the math work,” Procida said.
Procida said they scored well among Savannah’s applicants, but not well enough throughout the state to obtain the “highly competitive” credits. In conjunction with city officials, they intend to work on boosting that score in order to improve their chances of success during the third attempt, he said.
The tax credit applications are due in May and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs doesn’t announce the allocations until late in the year, so it will likely be at least 2024 before the developer can move forward with the project.
The city sold the property to the development group for the purpose of building affordable housing after the city’s Code Compliance Department building at the site was destroyed in a fire in 2020. To support last year’s tax credit application, the Savannah City Council authorized a $1.26 million loan to the developer that was contingent on the tax credits being awarded.
Meanwhile, the developer is making good progress with another Savannah project, despite challenges being presented by high interest rates, Procida said. The 38-unit market rate apartment complex being constructed at 601 East 39th St. will consist of three buildings with some street-level retail, as previously reported in December.
“We should be completing sometime towards the end of this year, early first quarter next year we’ll be looking to lease up,” Procida said.
Read about other local property developments in the latest Property Matter.
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