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Brookstone Capital has revived its plans to build a high-rise apartment tower at 20 East Fulton Street after state officials approved low income housing tax credits for the project.

(Rendering courtesy of Grand Rapids Economic Development Department)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Plans to build a high-rise apartment building at 20 East Fulton St. have been revived after Brookstone Capital was awarded state tax credits needed to finance the $42 million project.

The 12-to-14-story project would create between 96 and 108 one- and two-bedroom apartments with up to half of them set aside for low-to-medium income tenants. The project also would include ground floor retail space and a three- to five-story parking ramp with between 110 to 130 parking spaces.

Brookstone unveiled a similar plan one year ago and got the blessing of the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the City Commission. But the developers put the project on hold after the Michigan State Housing Commission denied their request for tax credits.

City Economic Development Director Kara Wood said Brookstone has brought back its application after the project received a “reservation” of low-income housing tax credits from the state housing agency.

The new proposal gives the developer the option of building less than the 108 units promised in the original proposal, Wood said. The proposed parking ramp also calls for the possibility of fewer spaces.

Meanwhile, the project’s cost has gone up to $42 million from its previous estimates of $35 million to $40 million, Wood said. Those cost increases are due mainly to site development estimates, she said.

Wood said construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2015, with completion near the end of 2016.

The city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will consider supporting the project at its meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18. Plans call for tax breaks totaling $6 million to help the developer clean up the site and pay for infrastructure improvements.

To qualify for the low-income housing tax credits, Brookstone has proposed making up to half of the apartments eligible as “workforce” housing in which rental rates are restricted by the tenant’s income. The remainder of the building would be rented at market rates.

Developer Karl Chew said last year he chose the site because of its proximity to The Rapids’ new Silver Line bus rapid transit route.

The high-rise is the largest project yet for Brookstone Capital, a Midland-based company that has eight housing projects either completed or underway in the city's downtown, Heartside Neighborhood and Southeast Side.



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The site has been a parking lot since the late 1960s. Before that, it was home to The Grand Rapids Press, which moved its headquarters to 155 Michigan St. NW as part of the city’s urban renewal program.

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Jim Harger covers business for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+.