FREDERICK, MD - EquityPlus announces the opening of Ox Fibre Apartments, an 83-unit workforce housing rental complex that is an adaptive re-use of an abandoned paint-brush factory in Frederick, Maryland.
Lt Governor Boyd Rutherford, County Executive Jan Gardner, Mayor Michael O'Connor, and Secretary (Maryland DHCD) Kenneth Holt were all present at the ribbon cutting that was held on July 22,2021.
Ox Fibre of Frederick will provide affordable rental housing for the working-class population of the City of Frederick and Frederick County. The building is 80,000 square feet, providing for a total of 83 units to be built, all with a comfortable amount of square footage. Rent is priced at 20% below market which effectively provides an affordable housing option to those in the appropriate income range, helping address the need for affordable housing within the booming city of Frederick. Units are available to individuals and families earning 40%-60% of the present Area Median Income (AMI).
The 83 units consist of 1-, 2-, and 3- bedroom loft apartments ranging from 500-1,500 sq. feet. All apartment units are newly constructed and quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-home washers and dryers, new windows, and additional amenities. There are six 1-bedroom floorplans, three 2-bedroom floorplans, and two 3-bedroom floorplans from which to choose.
The project's development team is led by EquityPlus LLC, an experienced affordable housing developer with offices in Mississippi and Virginia. To fund the project, EquityPlus utilized a combination of LIHTC and HTC equity along with mortgage financing. The firm also raised opportunity zone equity from private investors (Broad Creek Capital) and received subordinate, below-market financing from both the State of Maryland and Frederick County to help complete the project's ~$25 million capital stack.
The project is one of the first in the nation to combine the LIHTC program with the Opportunity Zone program utilizing different equity investors for each source of equity.
The project has a 1,300 person interest list for pre-leasing.