Construction is expected to begin next month on Heritage of Monona, a 232-unit elderly housing development near Owen Road west of Monona Drive in Monona.

The $11.5 million development by MSP Real Estate of St. Louis Park, Minn., will include independent-living units as well as assisted-living and memory-care housing.

The project's first phase includes a four-story building of 88 independent-living apartments and a two-story, 72-unit assisted-living and memory-care community. Completion is expected by November 2009, said Monona City Administrator Patrick Marsh.

Heritage of Monona will include market-rate and income-restricted units as well as 60 underground parking spaces. Construction of the second phase will be determined by the market.

Financing comes from tax incremental financing by the city and mortgages provided by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

The development is on the site of the former Garden Circle apartments, which became a hot spot for criminal activity before seven of the eight buildings were emptied in 2006. The city decided to buy the apartments for $6.36 million and search for a developer when another developer backed out.

MSP Real Estate has developed elderly housing projects in Wisconsin and Minnesota, including Heritage Court in Menomonee Falls, Heritage at Deer Creek in New Berlin and Lexington Heritage in Greenfield.

— Marv Balousek