TUPELO, Miss. — Hunt Capital Partners and Intervest Corp. are converting the former Carnation Milk factory in Tupelo into Carnation Village, a 33-unit seniors housing community. Two units will be rented at the market rate while the other 31 apartments will be restricted to seniors age 55 and older earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income.
The Carnation Milk plant opened in 1927 and was operational through 1972. Since then, the factory has been used as a police department and jail, city offices and the Oren Dunn Museum.
Intervest is leading the adaptive reuse project and will serve as its property manager upon completion, which is set for this July. The design-build team includes general contractor Century Construction Group Inc. and Wallace Architects. Upon completion, Carnation Village will feature a clubhouse, exercise facility, central laundry facility, elevators, walking trails and a butterfly garden.
Financing for the project includes $13.3 million in Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and Federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) equity financing, as well as $2.5 million in Mississippi Historic Tax Credit equity financing, a $10.9 million loan from Cadence Bank and a $475,000 loan from Financial Institutions Housing Opportunity Pool.