Indianapolis-based property development firm Flaherty & Collins has announced a plan to build an upscale apartment development complex in downtown Kokomo.
The developers are expected to build around 180 high-end units in the 104-year-old former Northern Indiana Supply Company building, 304 S. Main St., which will place the complex near the city’s new $9 million municipal baseball stadium.
“Flaherty & Collins is the most respected developer in the Midwest, “said Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight. “This is a really big deal.”
On Tuesday, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. unanimously approved $5.235 million in tax credits through the rarely-used Industrial Recovery Tax Credit, also known as the dinosaur tax credit.
The tax credit was established to help redevelop large, vacant, old buildings.
Because the building is more than 100 years old, the developers were able to claim the maximum possible from the dinosaur tax credit, which allows developers and communities to receive up to 25 percent of the cost of redevelopment in state tax credits.
“We are very happy with what has gone on so far with this project,” Goodnight said. “We very much appreciate the IEDC.”
Flaherty & Collins plans to fund the project by selling the $5.235 million to a third-party investor in exchange for cash, according to Indianapolis television station WTHR.
“Flaherty & Collins applied for the dinosaur tax, which was a very important hurdle,” said Goodnight. “However, we still have many more hurdles to jump.”
The city will contribute $6.9 million in tax abatements, grants and other incentives, while the developers will pay the estimated remaining $23 million of the project’s cost, according to WTHR.
A complete timeline for the project has yet to be set, but one should be announced within the next couple weeks, Goodnight said.
Plans presented at the IEDC meeting called for amenities such as granite countertops, hardwood floors, a swimming pool, a fire pit and high ceilings, WTHR reported. The apartments are expected to attract affluent tenants with a rental price of $1.15 a square foot.
Flaherty & Collins President Jerry Collins told the IEDC that the firm follows jobs, and there are about 9,000 people a day who commute into Kokomo, the Indiana Business Journal reported.