An Ohio developer is proposing to build a $10 million low-income senior housing apartment building near downtown Bay City, MI
At the commission's July 5 meeting, Pete Schwiegeraht, of the Cincinannti-based Miller-Valentine Group, gave a proposal for a four-story, 49-unit senior living development, to be built south of Maplewood Manor, a low-income senior apartment facility run by the Bay City Housing Commission.
The firm, which manages more than 14,000 housing units across 18 states, is looking to profit off the high senior population in Bay County, which, per capita, is the highest in Michigan. About 18.3 percent of the county's population is 65 or older, according to 2014 data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
"We've looked at the demographics and there's a limited amount of product for seniors in the market," Schwiegeraht said.
But in order to move forward with the project, the developer needs to secure a PILOT -- payment in lieu of taxes -- agreement with the city. If the commission approves the pilot and the project goes forward, construction would start in the summer of 2018, Schwiegeraht said.