Oxford Village’s municipal complex at 18-22 W. Burdick St. could find new life as a mixed-use development offering affordable apartments for senior citizens, plus rental spaces for commercial and retail uses.

Venture, Inc. will be pitching its proposal to do this at the village council’s 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25 meeting. Council chambers are located at 22 W. Burdick St.

A subsidiary of the nonprofit Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA), Venture, Inc. builds and sells affordable homes to low-income homebuyers.

Venture is proposing to buy the municipal complex and the two parcels (a total of 1.7 acres) it sits on for $450,000 in order to build a project dubbed “Oxford Station.”

By a vote of 921 to 675 in the November 2012 election, village residents gave the municipality permission to sell the property if it so chooses.

The existing 13,624-square-foot building – which houses the village offices, police station and other government offices as well as the chamber of commerce – would be renovated and expanded to accommodate approximately 16,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space.

On top of the existing building, two additional stories would be constructed. These floors would contain 32 to 40 rental apartments for seniors citizens age 55 and older.

Ron Borngesser, chief executive officer of OLHSA and president of Venture, called Oxford “a terrific community.”

“But like a lot of other communities, affordable housing (for seniors) is becoming more and more difficult to find,” he said.

By providing such housing in a place with “a good quality of life,” Borngesser said Oxford Station would enable people to stay in their community as they age.

“We don’t want them to leave Oakland County or Oxford,” he said.

Borgesser noted the proposed housing project could also entice seniors from other areas to move here.

The current proposal calls for 10 to 11 two-bedroom units and 22 to 29 one-bedroom units on the second and third floors.

The main attraction of this development would be its extremely close proximity to shopping and dining establishments in the downtown area.

“You can just walk to wherever you want,” Borngesser said. “There’s so much down there.”

To village Manager Joe Young, the proposed project could provide “more customers to help support our businesses.”

It would also provide the village government with more modern and efficient facilities, Young said.

The village offices and police station would be able to stay put because, according to Young, it’s proposed that Venture would sell the municipality 6,000 square feet of space, as a condo unit, on the ground floor. This would be remodelled to suit the government’s needs.

Young said the “intent” is to have the $450,000 Venture pays for the village property cover the purchase price and remodelling costs for the new municipal space.

“That’s the goal,” he said.

If the village were to attempt to build new offices and a police station elsewhere, Young said it would cost more than $1 million and the municipality cannot afford that.

Even if the village agreed to sell the property to Venture, the developer would still need to secure financing and a tax abatement in order to move forward.

Building Oxford Station is projected to cost $8.09 million.

To finance it, Venture plans to apply for federal low-income housing tax credits administered through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). These credits would be sold to a financial institution and the proceeds used to fund the project.

However, it’s a competitive process to obtain these credits and there’s no guarantee Venture would be awarded them.

When asked about Oxford Station’s odds in this process, Borngesser replied, “It’s so hard to tell because you don’t know how many people are going to apply.

“Oakland County hasn’t had a tax-credit program in years and that’s been a disappointment for us.”

There’s a big emphasis on walkability when determining which projects are awarded tax credits. That’s why, according to Borngesser, the state wants projects inside cities “and nothing in the rural areas anymore.”

But in this case, “Oxford really scores high” in terms of walkability, he explained, because the proposed development is so close to the downtown.

If Venture doesn’t receive these tax credits, it can’t afford to build the project. The deadline to apply with MSHDA is April 1, 2017.

The other thing the proposed project hinges on is reaching an agreement with the village on the establishment of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program.

Under a PILOT program, instead of paying property taxes based on the housing development’s actual value, Venture would pay a negotiated amount for public services – or “service charge” as it’s called under state law – that remains the same year after year.

The township has one PILOT program in existence and that’s for Hope Senior Apartments on W. Drahner Rd. As a result, the complex pays a fixed rate of $1,051 annually and will continue to do so until the PILOT expires in January 2029.

That sum gets split between the township, school district, county and state. For example, Hope pays $55 a year for fire/emergency medical services and just under $4 annually for the North Oakland Transportation Authority, which provides rides for senior citizens.

Borngesser said getting a PILOT program approved is a “critical element” of the proposed Oxford Station project.

“It just makes it affordable,” he explained. “If we had to pay the going (property tax) rate, it wouldn’t be affordable.”

He noted the project “will not go forward if we don’t get the PILOT.”

“In the past, that has been a deal-breaker. We’d have to have that,” Borngesser said.

In order for the proposed project to be approved at the municipal level, village Planner Chris Khorey, of the Northville-based McKenna Associates, indicated the property would have to be rezoned from its current multifamily residential (RM-2) to Central Business District (C-1) Transition.

According to Khorey’s Oct. 5 memo to the village, C-1 Transition “allows the housing and commercial aspects (of the proposed project) by right,” whereas RM-2 zoning prohibits commercial uses.

“It would also be consistent with the surroundings, as the houses on Burdick and Hudson streets immediately east of the village hall are currently zoned C-1 Transition,” he wrote.

Khorey indicated there would be no density issues related to the proposed 32-40 apartments under C-1 Transition zoning and it allows for buildings up to three stories high (maximum height 40 feet).

“Venture should endeavor to stay within those limits,” the planner wrote.

As for parking, Khorey explained the maximum 40 senior apartment units would require 32 spaces, plus spaces for the village hall and commercial/retail rental spaces.

“Presumably, there will be sufficient space for parking, but the exact number of spaces and parking lot design will have to (be) worked out,” he wrote.

According to the Oxford Station proposal, the existing 6,080-square-foot pole barn located behind the village hall would be removed in order “to allow for adequate parking.”

Borngesser is hopeful the project will move forward because he sees it as accomplishing so many things – providing affordable housing for senior citizens, providing the village government with new facilities and providing downtown Oxford with more consumers.

“It’s a win-win, no question,” he said.