City of Mobile, partners break ground on new, affordable housing development
Oct 20th, 2022
Posted in: Neighborhood DevelopmentPress Release
- October 20, 2022 -
For Immediate Release:
City of Mobile partners break ground on new, affordable housing development
Mobile, Ala. — On Thursday, Oct. 20, City of Mobile officials joined representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and several other local officials to break ground on a much-needed affordable housing development on the city’s eastern side.
Once construction is complete, Maryvale Place will be a 96-unit, multi-family apartment complex that will create affordable and attainable housing opportunities for the community. Maryvale Place will be built on the former footprint of Mae Eanes Middle School, which was closed by the Mobile County Public School System in 2016. The City of Mobile purchased the property from MCPSS in 2021.
Hollyhand Development of Northport, Ala. will construct the $29 million project. The complex will include four three-story buildings housing a combination of one, two and three-bedroom units. Maryvale Place will also include specially designed units for tenants living with disabilities as well as modern amenities like community spaces, laundry and computer centers and on-site pavilions.
“We cannot thank our local, state and federal partners enough for their continued support of this critical affordable housing project,” Mayor Sandy Stimpson. “Maryvale Place is allowing the City and its partners to put a vacant piece of property to great use in the community while also adding dozens of affordable housing options in one of the areas of Mobile that needs them most.”
Hollyhand is financing the construction of the Maryvale Place project using a combination of low-income housing tax credits from the Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA), with additional federal funding from HUD and the American Rescue Plan secured by the City of Mobile. The Mobile Housing Authority will also provide project-based Housing Choice Vouchers for units that will be available to local families with mixed-income levels.
Because of these government funding sources, all 96 units in Maryvale Place must be used for affordable housing for the next 40 years, and more than half will be exclusively reserved for low-income residents and families in the City of Mobile. It’s projected to be ready for occupancy by the fall of 2024.
In addition to the governmental partners at the local, state and federal levels, the Alabama Multi-Family Loan Consortium is providing a $6.5 million mortgage for the Maryvale Place project. ServisFirst Bank and United Bank are providing construction financing. Other partners in the project include Raymond James Financial, Bradley, Maynard Cooper Gale, Tidwell Group, JADE Consulting, McKean and Associates Architects, LLC, and The Frazier Lanier Company.
From left to right: Joe Raines, United Bank; Jason Grubbs, Frazier Lanier; Win Yerby, Hollyhand Development; Michael Pierce, Mobile Housing Authority; Mayor Sandy Stimpson; HUD Regional Administrator Jose Alvarez; City Council President C.J. Small; Marcella Roberts, Hollyhand Development; Lee McKinnon, ServisFirst Bank and Mobile City Councilman Cory Penn.