Five affordable-housing apartment complexes in Lancaster County are getting makeovers.

They are among seven regional complexes managed by the Lancaster-based Housing Development Corporation MidAtlantic that are slated for improvements under a $20 million financing plan spearheaded by Redevelopment Authority of Lancaster County.

The local complexes to be improved are:

• The Umbrella Works, 250 W. King St.

• The Franklin, 55 W. Franklin St., Ephrata.

• Oak Bottom Village, 123 Groffdale Drive, Quarryville.

• King Theatre Apartments, 419 E. King St.

• Aster Place Apartments, 201 Starflower View, Lititz.

The two other HDC complexes that are part of the plan are in Highspire and Reading.

"Obviously, these places are 15 years old or older, so they naturally have aged and taken their fair share of wear and tear," HDC spokesman Jeff McCloud said. "Our goal is to keep them in affordable housing, so people can continue to have a decent, affordable place to live."

All of the complexes are geared toward low-income tenants under federal Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, with some limited to senior citizens.

According to McCloud, the planned improvements run the gamut and include new heating and cooling systems, new parking lots, new appliances and energy-efficient windows and doors.

To fund the improvements, HDC and the county Redevelopment Authority are working on a complicated financing package.

According to Matthew Sternberg, executive director of the authority, the federal tax credits used to help build the complexes have expired.

Each complex is owned by a separate, limited-liability corporation. HDC is the principal partner in all of them.

A new limited partnership is being formed — again, with HDC as the principal partner — to take over ownership of all seven complexes to be renovated.

Private, tax-exempt bonds carrying tax credits will be issued to fund the renovations.

The seven complexes had to be brought under one owner so that the cost of the bond issue can be spread over a wider area.

Last week, the Lancaster County commissioners authorized a bond issue of up to $25 million for the project.

Their approval is required under the Internal Revenue Code, since they represent the highest elected government body in the county.

They voted to certify that the project is "desirable for the health, safety and welfare of the people of the county," the commissioners' resolution authorizing the bond issue states.

No county tax dollars are committed to back the project as a result of the commissioners' vote, Sternberg said.

The rent paid by tenants of the buildings to be renovated secures the debt, he said.

Similar votes are required from the commissioners in Dauphin and Berks counties as well, since one project is in each place.

The agreement allows a bond issuance of up to $25 million, but McCloud said only the exact amount needed will be issued.

That figure is expected to be between $19 million and $20 million, he said.

Actual construction is estimated at $9 million, and the remainder will be used to pay fees for architects and engineers and to pay down outstanding debt on some of the properties, according to McCloud.

Sternberg said the rents charged to tenants of the properties are not expected to change because of the renovations.

"The rents will continue to follow HUD's income guidelines," he said.

Financing for the project is expected to be in place by next month, and work can then begin immediately, Sternberg said.

HDC hopes to finish work on all the complexes by the end of 2012.

preilly@lnpnews.com