Left, nearly 150 people crammed into the Lincoln Center meeting room to hear details of the proposed housing unit Monday night. Over 20 people addressed the commission, some driven to tears.

by Brandi Makuski

A proposed “moderate-income” housing project slated for Doolittle Drive was unanimously shot down by the city plan commission Monday night. Commission members cited incomplete information, placement of the project and overwhelming objection from residents who live in this area.

The project was spearheaded by Bill Seno, of Madison- based real estate firm Seno Companies Inc., but would be owned in a partnership between CAP Services and an unnamed private investor(s). Of his company’s involvement, Seno would only say his job was to provide building plans and guarantee construction, though his was not a construction company.

“The storm water plan has not been planned, we’d need to spend a lot of money with a civil engineer to provide the specifics to satisfy the state for storm water and infiltration,” he added.

City plan commission member Tony Patton questioned the project immediately, asking if this would be considered a “low- income” property.

Seno replied the 50- bed housing project was considered “moderate- income housing”, with income limits for applicants and rents ranging from $645- $735 for two or three bedroom units. Units would come fully equipped with washer/dryer, dishwasher, one and a half bathrooms and attached garages.

The 2 acre property would easily accommodate the housing and parking, with room for a children’s play area. When pressed for comparison to other area apartment buildings, Seno admitted he wasn’t familiar enough with the area to comment.

Representatives from CAP Services were also on hand to outline how they would manage the property, citing past experience with other housing properties.

“We built our first property in 2003, and all our properties are beautiful,” said Mike Olson, Vice President of CAP Services. “There’s nothing rundown about any of them.”

Olson added CAP Services had over 700 such apartments under its belt, but did not provide photos of current housing projects for council members to inspect.

The housing project would be the first of its kind in the Stevens Point Area; with the creation of an LLC, the private investor and CAP Services could take advantage of federal tax credits, keeping rent affordable for moderate- income families.

Several commission members said they’d received several complaints from area residents about the proposal.

“Why would you want the controversy of plopping this down in the middle of where nobody wants it?” asked Council member Tony Patton. “You must have known when you picked these sites that people were going to be upset; why would you do that?”

“Well, it’s part of our mission,” said Mary Patoka, CEO of CAP Services, “and part of it is to be able to compete for finances to make these projects work.”

Patoka did not specifically say why the Doolittle site was chosen, but added CAP Services wasn’t trying to anger people, just provide affordable housing.

“I think we’re doing this for the right reasons. I think people should have access to affordable, safe housing,” she said.