Author: FFP Ai Bot

TIFFIN — A proposed 66-unit senior apartment community on State Route 231 was counting on federal housing tax credits for about three-quarters of its funding, but the project did not make the state’s 2026 list of awards, Ohio Housing Finance Agency records show.

What was proposed

Frontier Community Services applied for 2026 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for Villas of Seneca Place at 2326 St. Rt. 231, according to the developer’s proposal summary on file with OHFA. The plan calls for 66 two-bedroom apartments for residents 55 and older in 11 residential buildings, plus a community building, on about 17.3 acres. It lists 66 parking spaces, Wi-Fi throughout the property and a fitness room, with 15% of the units built to Section 504 accessibility standards. Frontier would serve as developer, owner and on-site service provider.

Every unit would carry an income limit. The summary lists 10 units for households earning up to 30% of the area median income, 16 at 50%, 24 at 60% and 16 at 80%. Those percentages set who qualifies to rent; they are not the share of income a tenant would pay. The summary shows no units with a rental subsidy.

How it would be paid for

The summary puts total development costs at $19,996,367. Frontier asked for $18 million in federal credits spread over 10 years, which it projected would bring in about $15.28 million in equity from its listed investor, PNC Bank. Under the program, investors put money into a project in exchange for credits that cut their federal tax bills over a decade, which lowers how much the developer has to borrow.

In the summary’s permanent financing plan, that equity covers about 76% of the cost. The rest comes from a $2.32 million mortgage, $1 million in federal HOME funds administered by the state, a $1.05 million contribution from the managing partner and $350,000 in deferred developer fees. The plan also lists a $1.75 million state Housing Development Loan during construction.

The budget includes a $2.8 million developer fee. Developer fees are a standard line in tax-credit budgets and pay for the developer’s work and risk; part of this one would be deferred and paid later rather than up front.

A crowded competition

OHFA announced its 2026 awards on May 21. The agency’s reservation summary shows 29 applications in the new senior housing pool competing for about $10.6 million in available annual credits, with requests totaling nearly $51 million. Eleven senior projects were funded, and Villas of Seneca Place is not on the list. The only senior project funded in the northwest region was Addie Joss Village in Lucas County.

The public records FFP reviewed do not say why the project wasn’t selected or whether Frontier plans to apply again, and FFP found no public statement from the developer about its next steps. Without the credits, or another source to replace them, most of the project’s proposed funding would not be in place.

Frontier has won before. OHFA records show the nonprofit’s 50-unit Fountain Creek Senior Villas in Bryan received a 2025 9% tax credit reservation, and in May 2026 the agency approved additional state funding for that project.

The Route 231 plan lists RCS Construction as general contractor, Lusk Architecture as architect and Community Investment Management Services as property manager. Ohio’s housing tax credit applications and awards are posted on the Ohio Housing Finance Agency website.

#Tiffin #SenecaCounty #AffordableHousing

Sources

• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: Villas of Seneca Place, 2026 9% LIHTC proposal summary (application 26-0002) – https://ohiohome.org/ppd/proposals/2026/NewAffordability-Senior/VillasofSenecaPlace.pdf
• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: 2026 9% LIHTC Reservation Summary – https://ohiohome.org/ppd/documents/2026-9-LIHTC-ReservationsSummary.pdf
• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: Ohio Housing Finance Agency Awards More Than $39.1 Million in Annual 9% Tax Credits (May 21, 2026) – https://ohiohome.org/news/releases/2026/9percent-taxcredits.aspx
• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: 2026 9% LIHTC Proposal Applications list – https://ohiohome.org/ppd/documents/2026-9-LIHTC-ProposalApplications.xlsx
• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: 2025 9% LIHTC Reservations – https://ohiohome.org/ppd/documents/2025-9-LIHTC-Reservations.pdf
• Ohio Housing Finance Agency: OHFA Board Approves Financing for Housing Developments (May 2026) – https://ohiohome.org/news/releases/2026/may-fundedprojects.aspx