The Silver Bay City Council held its first meeting of 2024 this past Tuesday night. Matthew Johnson, Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority Executive Director, spoke with the council, once again, about the planned Silverpoint II Apartment project. Readers will remember that the proposed project calls for the construction of around 36 units of much needed senior and workforce housing on land adjacent to the current Silverpoint Apartments. One of the barriers that is keeping the project from moving forward is the question of whether or not a new street can be constructed between the Silverpoint site and the shopping center. The estimated cost of the new thoroughfare is around $4,000,000.
Johnson acknowledged that such an amount is astronomical for a street that will essentially connect Banks Boulevard with Outer Drive. The reason for the high price tag is that construction of a street through this area would also require the construction of the needed utilities for water and sewer service and for appropriate measures for dealing with storm water management for the area. City leaders are continuing to look into ways that the street construction can be financed. Part of the cost could be picked up by Lake County and the State could also contribute funding. As these issues await an answer, the current landowners have legitimate questions about what to expect as the project progresses.
Johnson stated that the LCHRA is committed to making Silverpoint II happen regardless of what happens with the new street. That being said, the HRA needs to know what they can expect as they move into the design phase of the project. Johnson stated that when completed, Silver-point II will offer one and two-bedroom units at competitive market based rates.
If State funding is involved, it is likely that 20% of the units will be reserved for households with an income that falls below 80% of the Area Mean Income. Joe Rhein, from Bolton & Menk, spoke with the Council about the current state of work that has been done on East Lakeview Drive. Prior to the end of the 2023 construction season, blasting on over 300 yards of rock was completed. That rock will need to be excavated in the Spring before road construction can continue.
Rhein asked the Council to authorize payment in the amount of $22,443 to cover the cost of work that has been done so far. The Council agreed to this request. In other business, the Council appointed Richard Derosier as Acting Mayor, designated the North Shore Journal as the Official Newspaper and approved the hiring of Alex Burcum as a volunteer firefighter. The next Silver Bay City Council meeting will be held on January 16th at 7:00.
