Tosa’s Mayfair Collection project could get affordable apartments
Wauwatosa’s Mayfair Collection mixed-used project could be getting an apartment development that includes affordable units, as well as a building set aside for seniors.
The development would feature two buildings, each with four to five stories, that would be built on a vacant site just north of Synergy at the Mayfair Collection, a higher-end apartment development, 11221 Synergy Drive.
MSP Real Estate Inc. is seeking federal affordable housing tax credits to help finance the 80-unit development.
The tax credits are sold to raise cash, with developers seeking bank loans and other funding sources to complete their financing packages.
The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority typically awards the credits each spring in an annual competition.
Developers that receive tax credits generally must provide a majority of a building’s apartments at below-market rents to people earning no higher than 60% of the local median income.
MSP Real Estate wants to develop a building just for seniors, and another for younger renters, including those with children, said Mark Hammond, vice president of development for the Mendota Heights, Minnesota-based firm.
The total unit count would be split roughly 50-50 between the two buildings, Hammond told the Journal Sentinel. The development would have 56 units set aside at affordable rents for both seniors and younger renters.
Mayfair Collection, which is north of West Burleigh Street and east of Interstate 41, is a good location for a mix of market-rate and affordable apartments, he said.
The Mayfair Collection apartments would complement the high-end units at Synergy, Hammond said.
Also, people living in the affordable units could include those who work at Mayfair Collection’s stores, restaurants and hotel.
The mixed-use development includes Whole Foods Market, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nordstrom Rack, Good City Brewing and Homewood Suites among its businesses.
MSP hopes to begin construction in the first half of 2023 if the project receives tax credits, Hammond said. The units would be completed by summer 2024.
The development also would need local design and zoning approval, he said.
Other tax credit-financed affordable apartments in Wauwatosa includes buildings on the city’s east side, near the village area, and in the Mount Tosa neighborhood on the west side.
That includes MSP’s River Parkway Apartments and Townhomes, 6400 River Parkway.