Jay Trevor, owner of J&T Development LLC, expects to learn at the Nov. 6 Des Moines City Council meeting whether the city supports his plan to convert an old warehouse into a residential community for artists.

Trevor has a purchase contract pending for the former L&L Plumbing building at 340 S.W. Fifth St., which he plans to rehabilitate to create 57 live-work apartments intended to appeal to artists. The property’s location next to Art 316, a building that houses several artists’ studios, gave Trevor the idea to call his project “Art House of Des Moines.” His plans call for one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 700 to 1,000 square feet. He wants the building zoned for live-work studios, where artists could host open houses in their apartments or in a shared gallery space in the building.

“The building is designed to appeal to downtown residents and artisans who demand affordability,” Trevor said.

Trevor expects about half of the units to fall into the affordable housing category and the other units to be rented at market rate. He estimates the project cost at about $12 million.

Trevor is among 12 developers seeking the city’s endorsement for their projects as they prepare to compete for low-income housing tax credits from the Iowa Finance Authority.

Each year, the IFA awards tax credits as incentives to developers planning projects that offer rental housing to people with fixed or limited incomes. When the IFA considers which projects will receive tax credits, it looks for endorsements from the cities where the projects are slated to be built, according to Matt Anderson, an economic development administrator for the city of Des Moines.

Anderson said the city appoints a committee composed of representatives from its neighborhood development, community development and economic development offices to review the projects seeking its endorsement. This panel considers factors such as location and whether the projects offer a mix of affordable and market-rate rental units and support the goals of a neighborhood. The committee turns its recommendations over to the City Council, which has the final word on which projects to endorse.

“We have a good group of applicants this year, ranging from assisted-living apartments on the city’s South Side to family housing in Sherman Hill,” Anderson said. “We always like to see a mix of projects representing different areas of the city.”

In 2005, the City Council received seven applications from developers seeking resolutions of support for their projects.

In addition to applying for low-income housing tax credits, Trevor plans to apply for Historic Preservation Tax Incentives from the National Park Service. Trevor said if his project receives tax credits from the IFA next spring, construction on Art House would begin immediately, with completion expected about 10-12 months later.

If the city gives a nod to Trevor’s project, this would be his company’s first project in Des Moines. J&T Construction is currently renovating the former Mississippi Hotel in Davenport into mixed-income housing, a project it expects to complete in early 2007, and recently completed the rehabilitation of a former school in Waterloo into senior housing.

“Downtown Des Moines is a spot that I’ve been looking at for years,” Trevor said. “It has a great vibe, and there is a lot of investment going on that creates the need for more housing.”