Despite pleas from neighbors for more time - and their own misgivings about unanswered questions - Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commissioners gave the green light Wednesday for a low-income housing project to go forward.

Creekside Village would have 61 apartments and 10 townhomes on about 6 acres at 10th Street and Military Avenue, near State Fair Park.

The housing would be reserved for people making 60 percent or less of Lincoln’s median income, and 20 of the apartments would be for people classified as severely mentally ill, according to the developers, Fred and John Hoppe.

The land is owned by the city, and Urban Development Director David Landis said the project is an opportunity to remove an eyesore from an entrance to downtown.

Rundown former Naval Reserve buildings dominate the site, which is mostly used for storage by the Public Building Commission, although the city Parks and Recreation Department operates a shooting range there.

Landis said the city doesn’t have money to demolish the buildings, which are full of holes and have asbestos in them.

The land also is in the flood plain,  and could be under as much as 5 feet of water in a 100-year flood, according to a Planning Department report. Developers are allowed to build in a flood plain if they meet certain requirements.

But the flood plain issue concerns neighbors, as does the fact the project seems to be on a fast track to city approval.

Ed Caudill, president of the North Bottoms Neighborhood Association, said the Hoppes met with neighbors in fall 2005 about the possibility of building at the site.

But Caudill says he never heard another word until earlier this month, when another neighborhood meeting was called and residents were told there would be a public hearing on the project in a couple of weeks.

He said he’s concerned the project is being pushed through without adequate input from neighbors.

Another North Bottoms resident, former City Councilwoman Annette McRoy, asked why the city-owned land is being offered for potential sale to one developer and not put up for competitive bids.

“If we have surplus land, why wasn’t an RFP (request for proposals) put out?” she asked.

Several planning commissioners also expressed concerns about the speed at which the project was moving, especially with so many unanswered questions surrounding it.

For instance, the city will need approval from the Army Corps of Engineers because of the development’s proximity to a levee, and it may need approval from the Navy to change the land use from public to private.

Neighbors and at least a couple of commissioners wanted to consider delaying approval of the project for at least two weeks, but Fred Hoppe said that would make it impossible for the project to meet a Nov. 30 deadline to apply for state low-income housing tax credits.

Hoppe said the credits, which could apply to as much as $8 million of the project’s total cost, are vital to making it work.

The project also will likely qualify for as much as $1 million in tax-increment financing from the city.

In the end, planning commissioners said they would put their faith in the City Council and such city departments as Planning and Urban Development to shepherd the project, and they voted 7-0 to approve it.

If the project is approved by the City Council, Hoppe said construction will probably start in spring 2009.

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.