Norristown Council is applying for a state grant to help close a funding gap for a proposed apartment building.

The site is currently a county-owned parking lot bounded by Airy, DeKalb and Marshall Streets and the long-vacant former Montgomery County Prison.  The new building would have 97 one and two-bedroom apartments with one off-street parking space for each unit.  The total project cost is $18 million.

A Philadelphia company known as Pennrose Properties is willing to put up $9 million and take out a commercial loan for another $5 million.  The rest would come from grants through various state and county agencies and the county would donate the lot, worth about $500,000.