Firm plans 80 new appartments in '08

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STERLING - After the new proposed shopping center is built on the east end of town, there will be conveniently-located affordable housing nearby to live in by 2009. Herman & Kittle Properties Inc., a company based in Indiana, has plans to begin construction of 80 one- to four-bedroom apartments in April 2008, which will take 11 months to complete.

The Canterbury House Apartments complex will be located near the intersection of state Route 2 and 45th Avenue on 16 acres of land southeast of the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The 80-apartment complex could become 192 units if there is demand from city residents, said Scott Waldman, the project's development associate.

Construction of the first 80 units and purchase of all 16 acres will cost about $6 million.

Design for the second and third phases of the complex has not begun. When they will be built is yet to be determined, Waldman said.

The Sterling complex will include a playground, a computer lab and a clubhouse with a common room and a complete kitchen.

The other 112 units will be constructed in two later phases and will include a swimming pool, but there is no timetable at this point, Waldman said.

The apartments will cater to blue-collar workers, recent college graduates, teachers, police officers, firefighters and single mothers, Waldman said.

The complex will target potential tenants with a total annual income of $14,000 to $36,000, Waldman said. Tenants will be required to have a full-time job, and rent will be determined by their annual income, Waldman said.

Once rent is set, it will not increase even if the renter's annual income increases. The intent is to encourage people to save money for a down payment on a house, Waldman said.

Also, tenants will have a utility allowance deducted from their rent.

Herman & Kittle will be extending the sewer and city roads to the project.

The company also has to put together the final financing, architectural and engineering designs into place before the planned April 2008 groundbreaking.

Fifteen percent of the units will also be reserved for people with special needs, Waldman said. He gave the example of apartments could be made with cabinets to the ground for those in wheelchairs.

The complex will be two stories tall, but there will be no elevator.

The company chose the site because it is a within a mile of a school and a park, and it is located next to shopping.

Herman & Kittle has been in business since 1975, and building and managing apartments Illinois since 1979. This is the company's first project in Sterling.

"Sterling seems like a good stable community. It's a great place to live," Waldman said. "We feel there is a need for affordable housing."

Herman & Kittle will also begin construction of a 50-unit affordable housing complex in Dixon next month.

Herman & Kittle has about 65 apartment complexes with about 5,000 units in the Midwest. Within the next year, the company also has plans to build 1,000 apartments in parts of Louisiana that were affected by Hurricane Katrina.