Opara set to build affordable housing in Brooklyn Center

[Originally published by Finance & Commerce, written by J.D. Duggan: View Source]

Local developer Johnny Opara is nearing construction on what he calls a “luxury affordable” apartment building that’s been long anticipated in Brooklyn Center.

JO Companies, led by Opara, is building Wangstad Commons on four city-owned parcels with an emphasis on creating high-quality living with affordable rents. The four-story, 54-unit apartment will be highly amenitized and include family-sized units.

Opara has been working with the city since 2019 to bring the project at the northwest corner of 61st Avenue North and Brooklyn Boulevard to fruition. He’s pulled together a variety of public funds for the $23.7 million development.

“I pride myself on folks having access to high-quality housing that’s energy efficient, that’s sustainable, that’s going to reflect their economics,” Opara said. “I do believe as human beings, that we are deserving of that.”

He added that regardless of a person’s income, he thinks developers should bring the same intentionality toward affordable housing as they would put toward market-rate housing.

He said he plans to have a mix of unit sizes up to four-bedroom units, with a mix of units affordable from 30% of the area median income to 50% and 60% AMI units. Amenities include underground parking, a community room, a lobby, a business center, a fitness center, dog wash station, on-site management, storage areas, balconies and in-unit laundry.

Pope Design Group is the architect on the project.

Interim Community Development Director Jesse Anderson said the city hasn’t seen a lot of multifamily in recent years. Most of the products date back to the 1960s. He said Wangstad Commons is unique with its larger units.

The site is made up of four parcels near Brooklyn Boulevard that the city purchased over the course of multiple years. Anderson said the city made the plot shovel ready in hopes of drawing higher density along the corridor, which also has transit and a variety of commercial options

When a city official showed Opara the site years ago, he said he could clearly envision Wangstad Commons on the parcel. It’s near Wangstad Park, and Opara said he drew on his own experience of growing up in a rental townhome in the Twin Cities and he modeled Wangstad Commons after that.

People could walk from their apartment to the park to barbecue, play basketball or experience the trails and “have that exact same experience that created so many fond memories as me going through adolescence,” Opara said.

Opara is heading to the Planning Commission in April and hoping for final city approvals on May 8. He’s hoping to close on the project this summer and then immediately begin the 13 months of construction to open Wangstad Common’s doors.