AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two projects geared toward offering 300 new affordable apartment options in Austin received a sizable investment Wednesday that could help them move forward.
The Austin Community Foundation announced that its Housing Accelerator Loan Fund invested $2 million in two affordable housing developments — one in southwest Austin and the other in north Austin.
One million will go toward pre-development at Sunset Ridge, a project that will provide a total of 438 rental units on a property on Southwest Parkway. A majority of those units (220) will be reserved for households earning between 50-80% of the area median income. The loan will be at a 3% rate for a one-year term, according to the Austin Community Foundation.
Meanwhile, the other million-dollar loan will help with land acquisition for Cameron Senior Housing, which is set to provide 74 one-bedroom apartments along with services for independent seniors. The loan will have a 2.5% rate with a two-year term, according to the Austin Community Foundation. National Church Residences, a nonprofit developer of senior affordable housing, is behind building this project.
Tracey Fine, the senior director for National Church Residences’ Texas office, said in a statement Wednesday that the group is also seeking federal funding to make the senior complex a reality.
The Austin Community Foundation shared that its Housing Accelerator Loan Fund is a $15 million pot of money aimed at speeding up the development of more affordable housing in Central Texas. So far the fund provided four loans to date, totaling more than $6 million in support of about 900 new housing units in the Austin area.
Housing affordability remains a top concern for people across the state. A recent poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University found that 90% of Texans said the cost of housing is a problem in their area.