Huron is a step closer to 81 new apartments on its northeast side. On Oct. 1, the city's Tax Increment Finance Project Review Committee voted to recommend TIF District #10 as an affordable-housing TIF. The plan now goes to the Planning Commission.
The project belongs to Ridgeview Apartments LLC. According to the TIF project plan prepared by Colliers Securities, the developer plans three multifamily buildings with 27 units each. They would go up east of Jersey Avenue NE and along 5th Street NE on land that is already zoned R-4 Multiple Family, so no rezoning is needed.
How the TIF is set up
Under the plan, the district qualifies as affordable housing because monthly rents for all the apartments will stay at or below the calculated rent for the state's 80% area median income. That limit applies for at least five years after the first tenants move in.
The plan caps the total the city will ever pass along to the developer at $1,487,100, including interest. That number covers estimated eligible costs of $1,107,500 for capital work such as streets, water, sewer and land clearing and grading, $300,000 for real property assembly and $79,600 in professional fees. The buildings themselves, estimated at about $11.58 million, are listed as non-project costs that aren't eligible for reimbursement.
The city acts as a pass-through. The developer arranges its own financing, and the city pays back only from new property taxes the district actually generates, for no more than 20 years. The plan estimates the land is worth $19,800 today and expects about $5.1 million in new taxable value once the project is built. Collections are expected to start in 2028. The plan also states that no residents or families will be displaced by the project.
According to the committee's Oct. 1 minutes, City Planner Barry Cranston told members the valuation came in higher than the original pro forma, which required a change to the plan. The project cost chart now counts capital costs as project costs, which lets the developer offset interest during construction. Quinn Reimers of Colliers Securities walked the committee through the plan and said the biggest change was in the building valuation assumptions.
The minutes say the city won't advance any money and has no upfront costs. The first two buildings are expected to start construction at about the same time. A developer agreement with the binding details will come later.
Questions about noise and utilities
Committee member Jeff McGirr raised one practical concern. There's a shooting range a few blocks away, and he asked the owner to acknowledge that the noise will be there. The minutes say the owner acknowledged it and feels the area will work. Members also talked about utilities and a vacated road, including where utility lines will end and whether they could serve future development.
The vote was unanimous. Mark Robish, Rich Bragg, Denis Drake, Garret Bischoff, Tim VanBerkum, Ted Haeder and McGirr all voted yes.
The plan makes the case for more rentals with figures from Huron's housing needs assessment. Rentals made up about 41% of occupied housing in 2020. Vacancy among conventional market-rate rentals had dropped to about 4.2% by April 2026. The study estimates that 200 to 250 households could form if suitable housing were available. It projects a need for roughly 12 to 19 new rental units a year through 2030, not counting pent-up demand.
Huron's population grew about 13% from 2010 to 2020, to 14,263, while the number of households grew only 2%. The plan says that suggests some people are doubling up because they can't find a place.
Why it matters for Contractors
Eighty-one units is a big project for a city of Huron's size. With about $11.6 million in estimated building costs and roughly $1.1 million in site and utility work, it would mean months of steady work for excavators, utility crews, framers and the mechanical and finish trades.
The plan still needs the Planning Commission and City Commission, and the developer agreement isn't written yet, so nothing is final. Two buildings starting at about the same time would be a sizable early package for local subcontractors and suppliers. If you work in the Huron area, this is one to follow as it moves through approvals.