The Reno City Council on Wednesday agreed to transfer 4 acres of land at a reduced rate to a developer who plans to build low-income senior housing on Washington and Winter streets.
The company, Greenstreet Development Inc., plans to construct 160 one-bedroom apartment homes for those age 55 and older who earn 60% or less of the area’s annual median income. Five of those units will be for those earning 40% or less of AMI.
Rent will be $896 monthly, including utilities, with rent restrictions in place for 30 years. Monthly market rates for one-bedroom apartments locally range from $1,200 to $1,600, excluding utilities, city officials said.
Appraisals put the parcels at approximately $1.9 million but the city plans to relinquish it for no more than $625,000.
Council members said the need for affordable housing justifies the reduction.
“I know this property is something that we have discussed — its possibilities, its potential and its future for some time, and I know it’ll serve a population in dire need and now we’ve made significant steps in that regard,” Councilwoman Neoma Jardon said. “I feel this will be 160 units that will be just life changing to many.”
Greenstreet co-founder Jim Zaccheo said the company’s other low-income senior housing project at Geiger Grade Road and South Virginia Street has a wait list of between 100 and 150 at all times. It has a similar project underway on Gentry Way that he said has garnered lots of interest as well.
Zaccheo said construction on the complex is expected to start in summer or fall of 2021.
Carla has an undergraduate degree in journalism and more than 10 years experience as a daily newspaper reporter. She grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., moved to the Reno area in 2002 and wrote for the Reno Gazette-Journal for 8 years, covering a variety of topics. Prior to that, she covered local government in Fort Pierce, Fla.