A developer hoping to build apartments on Clarkesville’s west side still has a long way to go, but City Council members gave the project a boost this week with an official letter of support.
Tom Gladdis of MHL Inc. is applying for Georgia Department of Community Affairs tax credits to build Clarkesville Station, 72 “affordable” apartments on Highway 115 next door to Habersham Hardware and across from HEMC, “We’re moving forward with our application and this (letter) is one of the final pieces that demonstrates to the DCA where the community stands.”
Gladdis did not get support from council for a similar plan back in June. Back then, he was planning a 64-unit complex on E. Louise Drive near Salome Street and just up the road from Ingles. At the time, Clarkesville leaders and neighbors raised concerns about traffic in the area and the effect increasing the population by 256 people all at once would have on the neighborhood.
Clarkesville leaders took a “neutral” position on that plan and the state refused to help with financing. Gladdis says the DCA didn’t like the Louise Drive location and the state scored his project too low. “We missed our mark by 2 points. We can gain those 2 points by moving to a new census tract,” he says. “Because Highway 115 is a higher income census tract than E. Louise Drive, we’ll be able to get those two points and we believe that we would have an advantage and be able to obtain financing.”
The City Council letter of support for the Highway 115 complex is a very preliminary step in the process. Gladdis says he will be back before council soon, “we’ll come back to council for final plat approval when we’ve got all the engineering worked out.” They’re also working out how to get sewer service to the land. The current plan is to connect up a new line to the existing service running in front of Habersham Electric Membership Corporation. “That will be at our cost,” Gladdis explains.
In the end, the plan again hinges on state financing. The DCA will have to approve tax credits for the project before anything is built.
