HUNTINGBURG — When Tri-Cap and the Miller-Valentine Group were awarded tax credits in February to renovate the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in Huntingburg, the project to convert the building into senior housing finally lifted off the ground. The community rallied around the idea recently as it became part of the city’s bid for a Stellar Communities designation, a process for which a decision is expected next month.
Now the money keeps rolling.
Tri-Cap announced this week it has secured an additional $500,000 Affordable Housing Program grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis.
Tri-Cap, a Jasper-based organization that provides programs, services and opportunities to low-income citizens, is providing the role of local Community Housing Development Organization in partnership with the Cincinnati-based developer Miller-Valentine.
Miller-Valentine is expected to invest more than $8.6 million into the restoration of the former hospital, which has sat vacant since shutting down operations in 2007.
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority awarded rental housing tax credits to 15 multi-family housing developments throughout the state, including the St. Joseph’s project. Miller Valentine was awarded $798,000 in tax credits for the project.
This was Tri-Cap’s first attempt applying for the AHP grant. As the facilitator for the grant, Tri-Cap applied for and received the maximum amount. Of the 51 applicants of the grant that were scored, 39 received funding.
“To hit this on the first try, we were very pleased with that,” said Joyce Fleck, Tri-Cap executive director. “This was almost as big a news as what happened in February.”
With these new funds, which were budgeted in the planning process, the project can continue to move forward on schedule.
Miller-Valentine is hoping to secure the building in the coming months and begin the bid process.
The plan is for more than 30,000 square feet of the existing building to be renovated into 25 single- and double-bedroom units for residents 55 and older. An additional 27,000 square feet will be constructed for 20 more units.
During the second phase of construction, the south end and adjacent buildings will be formatted to provide community health care.
A center for senior citizens will be created during the third and final phase of redevelopment. That move would allow the city to move its senior center from Old Town Hall, better utilizing both spaces and providing improved access to senior programs compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.
Miller-Valentine is ready to select a consultant for design. A completion date for the project has been set for 2017.
Fleck said Tri-Cap has not applied for any other grants at this point, but certainly intends to now that this one is secured. She also said Huntingburg and Dubois County help would be appreciated, as every dollar will count in this multi-million dollar project.
“You apply for these things kind of blindly, hoping that you can get them but not really sure. It’s a lot of moving parts (funding the project),” Fleck said. “The biggest pieces have fallen into place now.”
Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner agreed that keeping the project on schedule is vital. In the past, plans to refurbish the empty structure have fallen through during funding and never come to fruition. With the tax credits and grant secured, Miller-Valentine is poised to follow through.
“This is the first step in the revitalization of that entire campus,” Spinner said. “I’m pleased that the developers continue to receive good news and I’m pleased that we’re going to be able to meet a housing need in the city and the county.”
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