Development to Receive Tax Benefits

The City Council has approved an agreement that allows a developer to buy and rehabilitate a deteriorating apartment complex using tax-exempt bonds and tax credits.

As part of the agreement, the county will apply to the state Debt Limit Allocation Committee next month for the issuance of the tax-exempt bonds. With the sale of the bonds, Bertram Development Partners will buy the 224-unit Palm Garden Apartments on West Orangethorpe Avenue for about $10 million and spend another $3 million on rehabilitation.

Though the city will not be involved in the project financially, it is requiring that the developer submit to annual code inspections and restrict occupancy to two tenants per bedroom.