RDA Meeting – August 17, 2026: Loan Programs, Affordable Housing, and Central City Plan Update
RDA Meeting – August 17, 2026
The Redevelopment Authority (RDA) met on Monday, August 17, 2026 at 6:03 p.m. No members of the public were present. The meeting covered updates on loan and grant programs, elections for chair and vice chair, a consultation on a proposed 20-unit affordable housing development (Cherry Faith Properties), and a discussion on updating the 2012 Central City Master Plan.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by unanimous consent (voice vote, no opposition).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comment was offered, as no public was in attendance.
Elections
- Chairman: Rick was nominated and unanimously re-elected as RDA chairman.
- Vice Chair: Jerry was nominated and elected as RDA vice chair (unanimous).
Discussion Items
RDA Loan Programs Update (Jeff)
- Storefront Activation: A full payoff of one loan was received; monthly payments continue. A new applicant (buyer of the Metropolitan Building) is seeking upgrades; paperwork not yet signed.
- Rental Rehab Grant (Housing): Minimal change; the program remains less popular due to repayment requirements. Many applicants use Walk Shaw County home funds (no interest, deferred payment).
- Affordable Housing Development Fund: Habitat for Humanity has paid back (with interest) all but one loan for Dominica Park; that final repayment expected by September. The RDA committed an additional $600,000 for three Habitat projects near the hospital (Madison and Caldwell). Total committed: $800,000 (three projects plus $200,000 for Dominica Park payoff). Interest earned from Habitat loans is approximately $17,000–$18,000. Staff reported discussions with developers about using the fund for tax-credit affordable housing, but no formal proposals yet. Habitat is exploring a potential duplex on a unique property on Moorland Hill (no driveway access; will require city permission and likely costs for driveway construction).
Affordable Housing Development Fund Consultation (ID 26-04204) – Cherry Faith Properties (Dewan Sherry)
- Project Description: A 20-unit multifamily development on Niagara Avenue (vacant lots, currently used for storage). The site is zoned industrial but is adjacent to residential areas. The development would be two-story with pitched roofs, designed to fit the neighborhood scale (reduced from earlier 24-unit proposal after neighborhood concerns). It includes 10 affordable units (income-restricted) and 10 market-rate units. Affordable units: 550 sq ft one-bedroom; market rate: 720 sq ft one-bedroom, 1,000–1,150 sq ft two-bedroom. Construction budget target: approximately $5.5 million. Capital stack: seeking $675,000 from RDA (reduced from earlier $720,000). Other sources: MEDC/Walkershaw Growth Fund (~$1.9 million term sheet), Walkershaw home funds (~$1.1 million anticipated, first meeting in September), Focus on Energy grant ($199,000), and senior debt (not yet identified, working with mortgage broker). The developer plans to partner with nonprofits (Easter Seals, Journey 21) for tenant selection and Lutheran Social Services for property management. A community meeting drew four attendees; parking was a concern (27 spaces: 21 surface + 6 enclosed). Developer noted that some residents may not drive due to disabilities. Environmental concerns: Phase I environmental assessment underway; Phase II may be needed. The site is across from the contaminated Navistar property, but plumes do not appear to reach this site. Staff will not recommend funding until the full capital stack is clear and environmental results are known. RDA members expressed support for the mixed-income approach and design, but questioned parking adequacy, driveway access (currently one-way), and the need for paved surfaces. The loan structure would likely mirror previous: 1% interest, 30-year term, no prepayment penalty, interest-only first two years, funds released at building permit.
Proposed Update to 2012 Central City Master Plan (ID 26-04194) – Discussion
- Staff (Jeff) presented a summary of the 2012 plan’s implementation and proposed an update. The plan is 15 years old; a 10-year update was anticipated. Key focus areas for the update included:
- White Rock corridor: Navistar site (contaminated, DNR remediation ongoing), former Hobson Oil site, White Rock School (potential housing), Prairieville pocket development continuation, streetscaping.
- East Broadway: YMCA site (planned move to WCTC campus - uncertain timing), WCTC property, Family Video site (most of building vacant), old Lincoln pub redevelopment, potential for housing or mixed-use.
- St. Paul Avenue corridor: Opportunity from INEO expansion (adding 500 jobs), former Jim's bug center, potential for spin-off redevelopment. Also mention of former STEM school site, KDV Label site, and water utility surplus property.
- Several RDA members emphasized the need to convert tax-exempt properties (e.g., YMCA, post office, WCTC, La Casa de Esperanza) to taxable uses to generate revenue. They encouraged working with the school district to acquire surplus sites for housing. Staff agreed to include stakeholder meetings (Y, WCTC, La Casa) and to fund the update through an existing TID district. Next steps: obtain consultant cost estimates before budget season.
Key Outcomes
- Elections: Chairman (Rick) and Vice Chair (Jerry) elected unanimously.
- Loan Programs: No action taken; staff continues monitoring and receives applications.
- Cherry Faith Development: No funding decision made. Staff will return after developer provides a complete capital stack (including a committed senior lender) and environmental clearance. RDA expressed favorable interest but wants more details.
- Central City Master Plan Update: Concept approved; staff will proceed with consultant scoping and budget allocation from TID. RDA members directed staff to prioritize converting tax-exempt properties to taxable redevelopment.
Meeting Transcript
My retirement. I decided not to retire. So begin my insurance business for another year. Well it's like I work from 7 30 till Monday through Friday in the days or whatever. Okay. What? Challenge. So it's uh six o'clock, 6 03 p.m. I'd like to call the uh Monday, August 17th, 2026 meeting to order. I don't see any public here, so there's no public comment. Move on to item number three, approval of the minutes. So move a second. Uh okay. I don't see anybody against, so I'm uh gonna say that that passed by humanitarian unanimous consent. Long time moves us up into uh number four, the business items. We're gonna turn it over to Jeff for update on redevelopment authority loan programs when he gets there. Of course, I just opened to adjourn defaults to adjourn on these things. Oh yes, uh I got them all comment. We've got two members not here, we have a quorum. So let's get started here. So yeah, like I said, it's it's been a while since we've met, so um, these are the loan and grant numbers. Um not a lot of change. Um the storefront activation we had a full payoff of a loan, and we continue your monthly payments. So that one's starting to build up again. We have some interest in a few uh businesses downtown to maybe tap into that. Um guy who just guy who applied who just bought the metropolitan building is looking to do some upgrades. Um so he applied. He's coming to sign the paperwork yet. So continues to be a pretty popular program. Um the housing the hodeg, the rental rehab grant, um hasn't really seen much change. The rehab program continues again to be uh fairly popular with residents, not maybe not so as much so before because there is a requirement that they have to repay it. So a lot of them go into Walk Shaw County home funds where it's no interest in deferred payment, but we still we're still getting a few applications here and there for that. And then the affordable housing development fund, uh, Habitat has paid back with interest all but one of their loans on Dominica Park. That one should be wrapping up fairly soon for the next couple weeks. So we'll get that back. And we have committed that additional at the last meeting committed additional uh $600,000 for the three projects they're doing over by the hospital on Madison and Caldwell. So that's the status of that. Um I and then I think that's kind of it. I don't know if there's any questions on this. So the outstanding funds committed for the affordable housing development fund of $800,000. That's for the three projects we approved. Uh the three projects plus an additional $200 for the up for the other Dominican park that will get paid back. I said I anticipate we'll have that money by September. They're just finishing up that once they get occupancy and they actually transfer it to the habitat family. That's when we get our money and interest from them. I mean, in with that problem, we've generated quite a bit of interest just from those habitat loans. I want to say we're probably about 17, 18,000 in interest just from those loans. So it's kind of nice that those are short and they're turning around fast. We're getting the money back to make our to make this fund a little bit larger. We have had quite a bit of discussion.
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