Commissioners hear broad public support and drainage concerns for Flats on Court brownfield plan

Clarence Revette, a partner on the Flats on Court project, told the commission the team is putting private capital at risk to make the proposal feasible: "We put our own equity money in which is about $3 million. We personally sign on debt which is $15 million at a Michigan lender and we proceed with the project." Revette described the brownfield/TIF as a tool to stabilize cash flow over a 20-year reimbursement period so the privately financed workforce housing can move forward.

Multiple local officials and employers testified in favor. Bo City Mayor Bob Ferrell said the project would convert a barren city-owned parcel into housing that meets regional needs and eventually produces tax revenue. Local business leaders and the Boone District Library director said the county’s workforce shortages and a 2023 housing study showing a large rental-unit shortfall argue for public support. "Laton court would add 96 rental homes in Boone City with 72 estimated as workforce housing for households at or below 120% of area median income," library director Monica Peek told the board.

Commissioners pushed back on several points. Boon-area commissioners and the county drain commissioner, Russell Smith, raised infrastructure and drainage questions: Smith warned that developers "were going to dump that water directly into the pond ... in no way address the storm water issue" and urged the county to ensure mitigation before approval. Commissioners also flagged fiscal trade-offs, noting the county operates on tax dollars and asked what other county priorities (including an underfunded retirement plan) might be affected if the county accepts long-term tax capture for the project.

Project representatives said the site plan (four buildings, 96 units) has city site-plan approval and that the 11-acre site includes wetlands that limit further expansion. On rents and affordability, the project team said the published 2026 maximum rents at 120% AMI (example figures included $1,482 for a two-bedroom) are maximums required by the financing tool and market conditions could lower effective rents.

The hearing supplied specific fiscal details to guide later decisions: Bridget Folz, a Bo City commissioner, told the board the developer sought a "$7.9 million tax capture over 20 years" (negotiated down from $10 million), information commissioners cited while weighing whether to accept deferred tax revenue for workforce housing. The board closed the hearing and moved into deliberations and related resolutions later in the meeting.