Cary mayoral candidates still split on Pedcor's recently opened Garden Place Apartments

CARY – Interest in Pedcor Investments' Garden Place Apartments in Cary has been higher than expected, Pedcor Management Corp. area manager Brittany Hart said.

Although many stop by the apartments because they’re interested in living there, some stop by just because they’re curious. So far, eight of 60 units have been filled, and all six buildings are expected to be move-in ready by mid- to late March.

The affordable housing project at First and Pearl streets drew hundreds of opposed residents to numerous Village Board and zoning meetings, as well as split the opinions of trustees on the Village Board.

Jim Cosler, who was a leader of the Cary Matters political action committee and fought the Pedcor development before being elected to the Village Board, is challenging Cary Mayor Mark Kownick – who favored the project – in the April 4 election.

“People have really looked at me as the voice of the people through all this, and the procedures and process that were used in this are exactly the things I want to change when I get elected to mayor on April 4,” Cosler said.

Cosler and Trustee Kim Covelli have said the handling of the Pedcor project was part of their motivation to run as write-in trustee candidates in April 2015.

“The basics of it are the processes used were basically processes that pushed through an overly dense development that required multiple variances and conditional use and zoning changes,” Cosler said of his problem with the development.

The project first was brought before the Cary Committee of the Whole in April 2014, and later passed by a 4-2 vote in June 2014. An ordinance to stop the proposal in July 2014 failed in a 3-3 vote, which upheld the original decision.

Throughout the process, residents and some trustees voiced concerns about how the property would affect property values in the neighborhood and the safety of the area. Some also said Cary needed to focus on bringing more business to the village before low-income housing.

Much of the opposition to the project comes from misinformation, Kownick said.

“It’s not subsidized housing, it’s not Section 8 housing – it’s owned by a private corporation who are taxpayers, and they’re now essentially a business in town providing a service to our residents,” Kownick said.

Pedcor is part of the Illinois Housing and Development Authority’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The program administers federal tax credits, and to receive the credits, Pedcor has to primarily serve residents who make 60 percent of the area median income or less.

Investors in the property then can get tax credits in return for project equity, which reduces the amount needed to finance the project and makes rent more affordable.

Federal law says that rents and incomes on the property have to remain restricted for 30 years, Kownick said.

“When you explain what it is and what it’s not, people have an entirely different view on it,” Kownick said, adding that the village has been transparent with the project throughout the process.

Kownick said state statute requires that 10 percent of the village’s housing stock is affordable, and the completion of the Garden Place Apartments will bring the village from 6.9 percent to 7.4 percent. Pedcor is providing a needed service in the village, and the people who will move into the apartments – who are required to work and go through background checks – will add to the community, he said.

Although Cosler said he’s not deaf to the needs of people in the community, he feels the village should have looked at other ways to give assistance to those in need, rather than support an industry that makes a profit off of projects such as this one.

Hart said people made judgments about Pedcor in advance, and the organization is professionally managed and maintained.

“The buildings themselves, it’s clear to tell that maybe they’re not quite what people thought they were going to be,” Hart said.

Since the project’s completion, Kownick said he’s had “more good comments than bad” on the project, and that people are amazed at how nice the complex looks.

Cosler said he’s heard differently.

“Basically the consensus is it’s really out of character with the neighborhood,” Cosler said. “… We’ll see down the road where this project goes; that’s all we can do.”

On whether the development will affect the mayoral election, Kownick said he hopes people can look at the next opportunity for the village rather than focus on a decision made three years ago.

“I think it’s important for the community to be collaborative and move forward,” Kownick said. “This is something that now everybody should be embracing – that they’re going to be residents, ... they’re going to buy into our community, and that’s what I hope. You want people to come, and you want them to stay. You want them to be happy.”