Key financing has been arranged for the acquisition and rehabilitation of a 74-unit affordable housing community in Petersburg, Illinois.

Seventy-four former public housing units are being rehabilitated into modern buildings for families and people who are homeless or have a disability in Petersburg, Illinois.
Courtesy Hunt Capital Partners Seventy-four former public housing units are being rehabilitated into modern buildings for families and people who are homeless or have a disability in Petersburg, Illinois.

Hunt Capital Partners, in collaboration with Central Illinois Services (CIS), a nonprofit affiliate of the Menard County Housing Authority, and Windsor Development Group, announced the closing of $9 million in federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) financing for the project.

The total development cost for Lukin’s Landing is $12.8 million. Hunt Capital Partners syndicated the federal tax credits through its multi-investor funds, Hunt Capital Partners Tax Credit Funds 37 and 41. Carrollton Bank provided an $8.3 million construction loan and a $1.2 million permanent loan. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago provided a $900,000 Affordable Housing Program construction to permanent loan.

“Our investment not only extends the longevity of affordability for Lukin’s Landing, but it also ensures it has the financing needed to implement key renovations to the 42-year-old complex,” said Hunt Capital Partners executive managing director Dana Mayo.

Lukin’s Landing comprises 36 single-story duplex residential buildings and two single-story single-unit residential buildings. Upon completion, the rehabbed property will offer 74 renovated affordable homes to family households, including 12 set aside for households with special needs.

Built in 1981, Lukin’s Landing was part of a 126-unit scattered public housing site known as Menard Family Homes. In 2018, under the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, Menard County Homes converted Lukin’s Landing from public housing to Section 8 housing where all units received project-based rental subsidies.

In connection with the rehabilitation, Lukin’s Landing will be separated from the other 52 existing units; classified as a stand-alone property by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the existing Housing Assistance Payments contract will be bifurcated, assigned to the partnership, and renewed for 20 years.

The rehabilitation will bring the development up to current energy and resource conservation standards. More specifically, the team will increase sidewall and attic insulation; convert gas ranges to electric; add double-paned, low-E windows; and install energy-efficient water heaters and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The scope of rehabilitation also includes the installation of central air conditioning, in-unit washers and dryers, and vinyl flooring.

Partners include co-developers CIS and Windsor Development Group, development consultant Bedrock Housing Consultants, general contractor Windsor Homes, architect Designed Architecture, and property manager Christian County Development Corp.

When completed in August 2024, Lukin’s Landing will offer 30 one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom, 20 three-bedroom, and two four-bedroom renovated homes for families who earn up to 30%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income. Twelve units will be set aside for residents who are either homeless, or at risk of homelessness under the State Referral Network project, or who have a disability or illness; examples include but are not limited to physical, development, mental limitation, substance abuse disorder, and HIV/AIDS.