A $30.9 million development with a planned 104 apartments has received approval for the state to take a $3.5 million equity stake in the project.

The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved the investment in The Woodward @ Midtown development on Woodward at Stimson, just a couple of blocks north of the under-construction Little Caesars Arena for the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was previously going to be called The Mondrian.

It is also expected to include nearly 15,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and create 53 full-time equivalent jobs with an average wage of $12.34 per hour, according to a board briefing memo. A three-story parking deck with about 160 spaces is also expected as part of the five-story project.

The project is being developed by Detroit-based Queen Lillian II LLC.

The group consists of Chris Jackson, who is minority owner and a former staffer to Detroit City Council President Gil Hill and former part owner of Greektown Casino-Hotel; and Jim Jenkins, who is majority owner of the company and is president and CEO of Detroit-based Jenkins Construction Inc., which will be the construction manager on The Mondrian.

Jackson said Tuesday that construction is expected to begin in the spring and be complete by the end of 2018. He said rents are currently expected to be about $2.10 per square foot but could ultimately end up being around $2.30 by the time the project opens.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments range from about 630 square feet to about 1,100 square feet, he said, which would put the rents at about $1,323 to $2,310 per month.

Huntington Bank is the anchor tenant for the retail space, Jackson said.

According to the board briefing memo, the project's other financing includes a $21.3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 221(d)(4) loan, $1.4 million in HOME funds from the city of Detroit and $4.7 million in developer equity.

The HUD loan is through a program which helps finance construction or rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing for moderate-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. Chicago-based NorthPoint Capital LLC is originating the loan.

The Woodward @ Midtown was originally planned to be a 75,000-square-foot medical office building to complement the developers' Queen Lillian I medical office building was completed for $18.4 million a mile away. The development was reconfigured after the project couldn't get enough of its space preleased, preventing them from securing a construction loan.

Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson Associates is the project architect.