The Washington state Housing Finance Commission has authorized tax-exempt revenue bonds of up to $13 million toward a new $18.1 million apartment complex planned at 2702 N. Pines Road, in Spokane Valley, says Margret Graham, communications manager for the commission.

Referred to as Winter Heights, the project will provide low-income housing, says Graham.

Prominent apartment developer Whitewater Creek Inc., of Hayden, and nonprofit partner Commonwealth Agency Inc., are developing the project, which will be owned by Winter Heights LLC, a Washington state corporation.

A representative from Whitewater Creek couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

Bonding authorization such as that provided by the state housing commission also enables housing developers to use low-income housing tax credits, which can provide equity for up to 30 percent of the total project cost, Graham says.

Winter Heights is planned to include 119 units in five apartment buildings, as well as a community building, she says. The development also is expected to have common areas that might include an exercise trail or a playground

Graham says the housing commission hopes to finalize the financing package for the project before the end of this month. With that timing, the project still would be funded if the federal government chooses to end funding for that financing structure, which Graham says has been under debate as part of the ongoing tax-reform bill the Senate passed on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The construction timeline currently is unknown, she says.

Winter Heights financing structure involves being approved for bonds and then allocating housing tax credits.

In Spokane County, similar financing structures have created approximately 3,000 rental housing units for families and seniors—and for 55,000 households statewide, she says.

Income from such revenue bonds that finance affordable housing is exempt from federal income tax, says Graham. Because of that tax incentive, bondholders can charge borrowers below-market interest rates, while developers are obligated to set aside units for low-income tenants.

Whitewater Creek also is working on Tullamore Place Apartments at 3611 E. Killdeer, owned by Tullamore Place LLC. The city of Post Falls issued permits for that project, valued at $6.3 million, in August.

Tullamore Place will have 120 units across six three-story, 22,900-square-foot buildings with 20 units each, says Justin Miller, city of Post Falls building official. The complex also will include a 3,200-square-foot clubhouse.

Some footing and foundations are complete for that project, says Miller.

ZBA Architecture, of Spokane, is the architect on the Tullamore Place project.