State Treasurer cuts ribbon at St. Joseph lofts

State Treasurer Sarah Steelman joined local dignitaries to celebrate the grand opening of the Lofts at Landmark in St. Joseph on Thursday, Feb. 23.  The 45 affordable housing loft apartments, located at 210 North 4th St., are part of the downtown Warehouse District conversion.  Steelman also serves as the Chairman of the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

The conversion was accomplished through a cooperative effort of the Community Action Partnership of Greater St. Joseph and Jeffrey E. Smith Development, Inc.

The lofts are part of the downtown Warehouse District conversion in St. Joseph.  The complex includes the rehabilitation and conversion of 45 units for family including 13 one-bedroom apartments renting for $355 and 32 two-bedroom apartments renting for $395.

MHDC participated in the financing through the allocation $563,000 in state and federal Rental Housing Tax Credits toward the development.  The allocation of housing tax credits ensures that rents will be kept affordable throughout the 15-year compliance period.

The ceremonies also dedicated the community room in the facility to honor Maurice Lawson, a longtime Missouri legislator from St. Joseph.

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MHDC is the state's housing finance agency. The Commission is dedicated to strengthening communities and the lives of Missourians through the financing, development and preservation of affordable housing. Since 1969, MHDC has encouraged and assisted in the production of affordable rental housing and provided homeownership opportunities for thousands of families while investing almost $4 billion in Missouri housing for rental housing developments, home mortgages, home improvement loans, loans to landlords for renovations, grants to neighborhood housing groups and other programs.  MHDC does not build or renovate housing itself; rather, it functions as a bank, providing financing directly to borrowers or through a network of private lending institutions. Most of MHDC's programs operate as a public-private partnership.