Solstice Partners LLC has been approved to build a 60-unit low-income apartment complex in Franklin.
Solstice Partners was one of three developers who had presented apartment complex plans to the Franklin Town Council and Franklin Planning Board earlier this year. All three were applying for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program through the state. From the beginning it was known that only one project would be approved this year.
The apartment complex, called Franklin Falls, will include three three-story residential buildings with one, two and three-bedroom apartments. A fourth building will include a community center with a computer room, event room, laundry facility and the management office. There also will be two playgrounds and a covered picnic area.
The units will be income restricted to households earning 40%-60% of the area median income.
“We are really excited about receiving a tax credit award from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency for the Franklin Falls proposal,” said Cathy Connors of Solstice Partners, which is based in Cary. “We look forward to collaborating with the Town of Franklin and the Southwestern NC HOME consortium, who is providing some gap funding, on this project.”
Connors estimated the total development cost to be $15 million. The apartments will be located on Siler Road, on the east side of Indigo Apartments. When presenting their plan earlier this year, Solstice said they had an option to buy 7.2 acres from property owner James Vanderwoude.
Connors said now that the tax credit funding is in place, they will begin getting the project designed, engineered and permitted. “We hope to break ground in summer 2025. Once we break ground, construction is expected to take 12-15 months,” she said.
Connors said as they near completion they will work with a property management company to widely advertise apartment availability. “We hope to begin taking applications and doing lease-up in mid-late 2026.”
The town has already approved a conditional zoning request for the project, which was required since it includes more than 20 units. As part of the conditional zoning, the town required that sidewalks be built along Siler Road. Town Planner Justin Setser said now that the tax credits have been approved, the developers will need to apply for voluntary annexation into the town and all the required water and sewer connection permits and a land development application to match the approved plans.
“The development will be a great addition to the town,” Setser said. “The Town of Franklin is very excited to see this much-needed development to provide pivotal housing for the community.”
Town Council member Rita Salain, who has been an advocate for more affordable housing in town, said they look forward to working with Solstice and welcoming them to Franklin.
“Franklin, and Macon County, desperately need more housing,” Salain said. “The support from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency and the Southwestern Region’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program for the Solstice Partners apartment complex to be built here in Franklin is indeed welcome news.”
The other two projects presented to the town were The Lofts, with 54 units for people age 55+, and Franklin Abbington Mill, with 48 multi-family units in three buildings. The Lofts also would have been on Siler Road, on the other side of Indigo apartments, and Abbington Mill was planned for Allman Drive.
Tara Hall, manager of rental development for the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, said the developer for The Lofts withdrew their application.
Hall said the applications are ranked using a scoring system and that in the initial ranking, the Franklin Falls and Abbington Mill projects were tied. Hall said when there is a tie, they have a different formula they use and part of that includes looking at the percentage of other, non-agency related funding that is being used for the project. Since Franklin Falls had a higher percentage of other funding, they were selected.
Projects receiving federal tax credits have up to two years to build and must have the units in service with occupancy “as quickly as possible” after construction is complete, Hall said.
Hall said projects not selected this year can reapply next year and that they will soon be posting the information for the 2025 application cycle.
The Franklin Falls project is among the projects receiving federal tax credits and other financing in 2024 that will build more than $1.1 billion in affordable apartments in 25 North Carolina counties. The work is expected to support 16,900 jobs and generate $73.3 million in state and local tax revenue, according to the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, which administers the tax credit program.
“The LIHTC Program is essential for creating and maintaining affordable housing across North Carolina” said Scott Farmer, executive director of the N.C. Housing Finance Agency. “These apartment homes will strengthen our communities by providing much-needed affordable housing options for working families and seniors.”
The funding will produce 4,211 privately owned and managed affordable apartments. These include 3,631 apartments for families and 580 for seniors. At least 420 of the apartments will be targeted for people with disabilities. The new awards will bring the number of Housing Credit apartments in the state to more than 128,900.
The Franklin Falls project is also among the 28 properties awarded $37 million from the Workforce Housing Loan Program, which was established by the NC General Assembly in 2014 to encourage development of Housing Credit apartments in low-income counties and reduce rents in moderate- and high-income counties. Agency loans totaling more than $17.5 million were awarded to 17 properties under the Rental Production Program which uses state and federal funds to improve economic feasibility for rental developments.