Tuesday night, the city of Huntingburg heard an update from Paragus Group on the status of the Wagon Works Apartment Complex. Construction is on pace to potentially allow the first set of residents to move in late May. The first building is estimated to be completed in early May, with the completion of the total project anticipated for October. Interested parties could start applying as early as late February. This will depend on the date the first building will officially be open to the public, as the state forbids the use of any applicable information that is more than 90 days old. As this is income-based apartments, the state of Indiana sets the criteria for income limits and the rental rates, which are adjusted annually in April.
To be eligible to apply a single person household must not make more than $31,560. A 2 person household limit is set at $36,060. For a 3 person household, the limit is set at $40,560. And finally, a 4 person household will have an income limit of $45,060. The apartment complex when finished will offer up to 56 apartments, ranging from studio apartments to 2 bedroom apartments. The maximum occupancy is 2 per bedroom. Currently, the state has set the rental rate, on the low end for the studio apartment, at $349 a month and up to $599 for the 2 bedroom apartments. In addition to the update, the Huntingburg city council approved an Economic Development Grant in the amount of $25,000 for Wagon Works LP. This is due to the commitment the city had made to the state of Indiana for this project, with the funds to go towards utility connection fees.
In other council news, the city awarded bids for the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program. The program is designed to give a chance for low-income households to receive funds to rehabilitate their homes. 14 houses were chosen, but only 11 had their bids awarded. The 3 others will have to go through a re-bidding process which could take up to 2 months. The program’s grant has a construction deadline in August. Of the house awarded, 10 went to Garner’s Construction and one went to Kenneth Mendenhall.
