Fort Wayne City Council is delaying a vote on an affordable housing development on two pieces of land on East State Boulevard and Laverne Avenue for two weeks.
Keller Development wants to build a 13-building duplex and five-building project with 40 residential units on the land, and is asking the city for tax abatements and an expansion of the economic development target area. The abatements would help Keller qualify for tax breaks in the future.
But ten area residents spoke in opposition to the developments, citing concerns about crime, property values and school quality while associating them with other affordable housing developments in the area built by Keller. One resident presented a petition to Council with 134 additional signatures in opposition.
While several members took exception to the correlation that “affordable” or “low-income” housing correlates directly to crime, the body did want to look deeper into the community’s concerns about the management of those properties.
Keller’s community development director Greg Majewski was on hand to respond to these criticisms.
“We understand that we cannot make every tenant happy all the time, but I think if you were to look objectively at who lives and continues to live at Ryker Reserve in particular, that would help in understanding,” Majewski said.
He noted that of the 65 units at Ryker Reserve, 26 have been occupied by tenants who have lived there since the property opened in 2013.
Regardless, Council voted 7-0 -- two members were absent Tuesday -- to hold the abatements and area expansion until its August 25 meeting.
Fort Wayne’s Plan Commission is expected to take up both during its meeting next Monday, August 17, which could help influence Council’s overall decision.
