Silver Birch of Kokomo is among the first developments in Indiana to combine low-income housing tax credits with assisted-living services funded by a federal Medicaid waiver.
As a result, the 119-unit development provides frail seniors with an affordable home as well as help with their daily-living activities such as dressing, housekeeping, and medication management.
It’s an important housing option for residents. Without the affordable assisted-living development, some seniors would have to struggle without the assistance they need or move into a much more costly nursing home.
“It’s the frontier of the affordable housing business, combining a place to live with the necessary services that people need to thrive,” says Mark Laubacher, president of The Laubacher Co. His firm and Vermilion Development co-developed the property.
To reduce hard costs, the design and construction teams took advantage of pre-fabricated wood framing components such as wall panels and floor trusses. By making the building four stories in height and utilizing a compact footprint, site development and foundation costs were lowered, while views of the surrounding community were enhanced.
Featuring studio and one-bedroom apartments, the Silver Birch development is also at the heart of Kokomo’s efforts to redevelop the downtown neighborhood. The development team remediated the property of industrial waste and hazardous materials and raised the site above the floodplain elevation.
In another move, the project is one of the first in the nation to utilize the new income-averaging option in the low-income housing tax credit program. As a result, Silver Birch serves seniors at 80%, 60%, and 40% of the area median income.
Financing for the $22.1 million development includes 4% housing credits and city-issued tax-exempt municipal bonds.
