The Secor Senior Lofts project is preparing to enter a second phase of development, as the latest Toledo City Plan Commission report lists another affordable senior living space next to a complex constructed last year.
According to the staff report, the new building will be placed on just more than two acres of undeveloped land at 3829 Secor Rd., near Monroe Street. The project is set to add an additional 50 units within the proposed four-story, 49,472 square foot structure. Phase 2 will also come with 92 additional parking spaces for the complex.
It’s a welcome addition for MVAH Partners of the Cincinnati area, a firm that’s seen the project through from the beginning.
Pete Schwiegeraht, vice president of development for MVAH, said that demand for affordable senior housing in the area is high, evidenced by how quickly the first building filled up.
“Phase 1 leased up in record pace, we have a substantial waitlist, there’s very limited product of this nature in the area,” he said Tuesday “It’s a wonderful area from services and amenities perspective, walkability, access to transit, so we’re happy to have an opportunity to bring more of the senior housing to market there.”
Secor Senior Lofts is adjacent to a 40-bed rehabilitation hospital owned by Encompass Health Corp., and both are on a site that was the former provincial headquarters of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
In the years prior to the lofts being built, the property was proposed to become a $26 million, 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace store. That project faced opposition, but it was approved by Toledo City Council in 2017. It ultimately never came to fruition, as Kroger backed out and sold the land in 2018.
Despite past projects falling through at the location, Toledo City Councilman Sam Melden said that the lofts have been a positive addition to the area. He represents council District 5, where the property is located. Mr. Melden was not yet on city council when the Kroger project was still being discussed.
“So many neighbors that I talk to really think about this in the context of previous proposals, and the reality is we really ended up with a really nice development for the land, and the geography, and the market,” he said Tuesday.
“This project is in line with our comprehensive housing plan, it meets the mark relative to housing demand, from an affordability standpoint, accessibility standpoint,” Mr. Melden said. “All in all, it really is a pretty good outcome, given the many different back-and-forth type negotiations that went on around that site.”
Mr. Schwiegeraht said that the new building likely will be a $13 million to $14 million investment, and that the same tax credit funding from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency used for Phase 1 will be used again.
The new site will be slightly smaller than the original, which is a four-story, 55,767-square-foot facility holding 58 units.
The official item of business on the agenda is a major site plan review, set to be heard by the plan commission on Sept. 8. The plan commission staff has recommended approval of the site plan review.
As long as the project continues to move forward in the planning process without any unexpected roadblocks, Mr. Schwiegeraht said that MVAH hopes to break ground on the project before year’s end.
First Published August 30, 2022, 10:20 p.m.
