Feature Illustration: The proposed adaptive reuse of an abandoned hospital in Alice, Texas (above)–converting it to a seniors residence for low-income tenants–is one of 70 apartment projects that received tax credit awards Thursday by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Posted: 7-23-2021
by Adolfo Pesquera
Austin (Travis County) — The state board tasked with supporting affordable housing projects approved 9% housing tax credits Thursday of more than $84.7 million, thereby assisting 70 apartment projects or 5,192 rental units.
The July 22 session of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Governing Board accepted the staff recommendation to provide 9% credits to 56 new construction projects that total 4,171 units, and 14 existing apartment properties identified as “at-risk set aside” developments that need to rehabilitate 1,021 units to maintain their rental subsidy status for low-income residents.
Nine percent housing tax credits are competitive and less than half the applications submitted by private and public developers get approved. The Governing Board makes its decision each year toward the end of July.
Investors purchasing credits allocated to developers may apply the credits toward their federal tax liability each year for 10 years on a dollar-for-dollar basis in exchange for their investment in the property. This enables developers to leverage the tax credits when assembling their construction loan financing; Thursday’s awards have an approximate value of $847 million over the 10-year term.
Applicants must assure the housing will go to tenants with incomes of 80% or less of the area median income, and the project sites must be in neighborhoods that provide reasonable access to a viable social network (i.e. accessible public transit, shopping centers, good schools, medical facilities).
Proposed projects in this 2021 tax credit awards cycle that have been previously reported in VBX include the Parker Apartments (Austin) VBX Project ID 2021-2994; Fishpond at Alice (Alice) VBX Project ID 2021-3AA5; Village at Perrin Beitel (San Antonio) VBX Project ID 2020-2779; Palms at Blucher Park (Corpus Christi) VBX Project ID 2021-17BD; Del Rio Lofts (Del Rio) VBX Project ID 2021-4081; Avanti Legacy Violet Parc (McAllen) VBX Project ID 2021-3896; Carver Ridge Apartments (Hutto) VBX Project ID 2020-1899.
adolfo@virtualbx.com
