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After more than a year of sitting vacant, the Argent luxury condominium building in downtown Silver Spring will open as affordable housing next month under a new owner.

The Argent, a nine-story, 96-unit building located at 1200 Blair Mill Road, will be the first luxury condo building transformed into 100 percent affordable housing in Montgomery County, said Richard Y. Nelson Jr., director of the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Development.

Nelson said he's glad to hear that people will be moving into the empty Argent building.

"First, it's good news that someone came in to make it occupied," Nelson said. "It's a great location and the opportunity to have 96 moderate-income families have a place to live is good and consistent with the goals we have for affordable housing."

Nelson noted that community members sometimes have concerns regarding affordable housing, linking it to increased crime and a decrease in property values. However, such concerns should not apply to the Argent, he said.

"You're talking about people and families engaged in the work force," Nelson said. "In many cases, people who are concerned about it, it actually could be their kids who could tenant these units. Kids out of college. Their income will qualify them for that. It's the folks we meet and greet everyday."

Nelson said he considers similar affordable housing projects in Montgomery County successful.

"We have experience in Montgomery County with projects like this that have not, in fact, been a drain on the neighborhood and have contributed to the vibrancy of the neighborhood," Nelson said. "People conjure up these views of properties that were not well maintained in past history. That's not what we do in Montgomery County."

Still, some neighbors have voiced concerns about the Argent on the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association blog, which reported on the property Aug. 4. Concerns include an increase in crime, a decrease in property values and other possible negative effects of concentrated affordable housing.

Evan Glass, vice chair of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, said that neighborhood residents found out about the Argent becoming affordable housing by chance. Some residents were upset that they were not informed about it formally, he said. However, most private real estate transactions are not subject to neighborhood approval.

Initially built as luxury condos by Perseus Realty, LLC, a local real estate developer, the Argent was slated to open in 2009, just as the economy soured. The developer was unable to sell any of the units, and it then lost its financial backer when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over Corus Bank.

"Had it been completed a year earlier, my personal opinion is that they would have been able to sell those units at prices comparable with what was selling, at the mid-$300,000s to high $400,000s," said Stan Herskovitz , principal of Paradigm Financial Consulting, which purchased the building under the name Pallas Properties, LLC, in July.

Pallas purchased the Argent for $24.8 million, Nelson said.

"We have worked on a structure that gave us the ability to buy the property through a combination of municipal bonds and Low Income Housing Tax Credits," Herskovitz said.

The municipal bonds total $25.3 million and the tax credits will amount to approximately $15 million over a 10-15 year period, he said.

The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program awards the credits on a competitive basis to nonprofit and for profit sponsors of affordable housing, according to the county Department of Housing and Community Development. The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County issues the tax-exempt municipal bonds.

Terms of agreement require that the Argent remain affordable housing for 30 years, Herskovitz said.

Located about a quarter-mile from the Silver Spring Metro station, the building offers studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom apartment. Grady Management Inc., a real estate consulting firm, handles rental applications for the property.

Monthly rent will range from $842 for the smallest unit to $1,272 for the largest one, said Lisa Kish, a regional marketing coordinator for Grady Management Inc.

Affordable housing unit managers must follow specific income guidelines when deciding who can rent the apartments. Income includes job salary, child support, alimony, pension, retirement, savings, social security and unemployment collection, said Michelle Jones, a compliance manager with Grady Management Inc.

Ten of the Argent's units must rent to households earning 50 percent of the Area Median Income, and the remaining units must rent to households earning 60 percent of that income. Montgomery County's median income for a family of four is $103,500, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development. So a one-person household must earn between $33,000 and $43,500 per year to qualify for a 60 percent unit, Jones said. The one-person household salary for a 50 percent unit begins at $27,500 and caps off at $36,250, she said.

Though the official ribbon cutting is Sept. 16, the Argent is currently accepting rental applications and tenants will begin moving in at the end of September, Herskovitz said. He said he expects the building to reach full occupancy by the beginning of December.

The only necessary building renovations include constructing a rental office, sprucing up the area in front of the building and adding washer/dryer rooms to each floor, Herskovitz said.

-Monthly rent: $842-$1,272

-Number of units: 96

-Years building must operate

as affordable housing: 30

-Montgomery County median income for family of four: $103,500

-Required salary range for one person to qualify for a 50-percent unit: $27,500-$36,250

-Required salary range for one person to qualify for a 60-percent unit: $33,000-$43,500