Plans move forward for affordable housing in Frederick

May 22—Construction of a new affordable housing complex in Frederick is set to begin in about a month.

The Hamilton Station apartments will be located across the street from Grove Park on Hamilton Avenue near the Frederick Fairgrounds. The five walk-up, garden-style buildings will offer 80 units for rent, said Ryan Trout, the county's community development housing program manager.

Frederick County and the city of Frederick each agreed to enter into a tax-credit agreement with the developer, Pax-Edwards, LLC. The payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) deal means the county will contribute about $31,000 per year to the development's property taxes, and the city will contribute about $24,000.

"PILOT agreements are vital to the feasibility of new, affordable communities like Hamilton Station," Scott Link, vice president of development at Pax-Edwards, told the Frederick County Council at a meeting Tuesday.

Units at Hamilton Station will only be available to people making less than 60 percent of the federally determined area median income — which is $126,000 for a family of four in Frederick County. That means a family of four making $75,600 or less or individuals making $52,920 or less will be eligible to move in.

One-bedroom apartments are slated to cost $1,200 per month, Trout said. Rent for two-bedroom units will be $1,310, while three-bedrooms will be $1,500.

Meanwhile, the average rent for an apartment in Frederick is $1,475, according to RentCafe. That's a 6 percent increase from last year.

At Tuesday's council meeting, where members voted unanimously to approve the developer's PILOT credit, Councilman Steve Mc Kay (R) initially expressed concern that families who meet the eligibility requirements upon signing their lease might have to leave if their income rose after moving in.

But Link told him that residents wouldn't be required to move out until their household income reached 140 percent of the area's median.

Council President M.C. Keegan-Ayer (D) asked Link where the apartments would sit relative to the site of a sinkhole that closed Hamilton Avenue, which runs between East South Street and East Patrick Street, in September 2018. Link responded that the buildings will be just south of that site and that the developers are working with geotechnical engineers to avoid potential sinkholes.

Pax-Edwards has been working with the city and county since early 2019, Link said, and is awaiting final site plan approval before construction gets underway.

Follow Jillian Atelsek on Twitter: @jillian_atelsek