Council approves agreement with city, affordable housing developer

Ceoli Jacoby, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read

The Frederick County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement to grant an annual property tax abatement to the owner of The Junction, a planned 179-unit affordable housing project in the city of Frederick.

The Junction, which would include two buildings on either side of West South Street, would cater to people making up to 60% of the area median income as defined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.

Frederick County’s Payment In Lieu of Tax (PILOT) Policy allows the county to financially support low and moderate income housing projects by offering property tax breaks to their owners.

The agreement approved by the council on Thursday would guarantee that the owner of The Junction receives a $93,080 reduction in real property taxes from the county each year.

Over the course of the 40-year term of the agreement, the county would forfeit a total of $3.7 million in real property taxes from the development.

The city’s Board of Aldermen last week voted 3-2 to approve their own PILOT agreement with Taft-Mills Group, the North Carolina-based developer of The Junction.

The aldermen agreed to grant The Junction a $142,173 reduction in city property taxes each year, or a total reduction of nearly $5.7 million over the 40-year term of the agreement.

At the same meeting, city officials voted 4-1 to transfer $2 million to the county’s Housing Initiatives Fund (HIF) for the purpose of providing The Junction with a $4 million deferred loan.

The memorandum concerning the deferred loan will not come before the council, county spokesperson Vivan Laxton confirmed last week.

The council will be asked to approve a budget journal allowing the county to accept the city’s contribution to the Housing Initiatives Fund, Laxton wrote.