Overview

• The City Council authorized a 60-year ground lease with MRK Partners and cREate Development to convert the 21-story, asbestos-contaminated tower into 247 income- and rent-restricted apartments alongside 25,000 sq ft of retail and a 4,000 sq ft childcare center
• The deal triggers a 24-month escrow during which the city covers $2.55 million in annual upkeep while developers must satisfy financing, design and permitting conditions
• MRK Partners and MKAFF Housing plan to apply for roughly $87.8 million in federal low-income housing and historic tax credits plus supportable loans beginning in September
• Total redevelopment costs are estimated at $267.6 million—including acquisition, asbestos abatement and rehabilitation—with the city poised to net about $90 million in lease revenues without direct capital outlay
• A prior $86 million settlement with Cisterra Development and CGA in 2022 resolved legacy liabilities from the 2017 lease-to-own deal that uncovered the tower’s asbestos contamination