The project is a partnership between Capital A Housing, The NHP Foundation (NHPF) and Aspen Heights Partners in an effort to bring affordable housing to Austin residents
NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Austin City Council today approved full negotiations on a proposal to redevelop the city-owned HealthSouth tract just east of the Texas State Capitol streets, a big step forward in a project that will bring 232 units of affordable housing and other community benefits to Downtown Austin. Capital A Housing and NHPF are partnering with Aspen Heights to build the multi-tower, mixed-income complex next to Waterloo Park and near a future Project Connect light rail line.
"We are thrilled to join this project to help deliver an unprecedented level of affordable housing - it will double the number of income-restricted units in downtown Austin," stated Fayez Kazi, CEO of Capital A Housing. The mixed-use residential development will take up almost the entire block bounded by 12th St., Red River, a new 13th St., and Sabine St., including all of the old HealthSouth hospital site. It will have two towers built atop a 6-story podium with a 30,000 square foot public plaza with green space, water features, an 18,000 square foot local restaurant food-hall/business-incubator, and views of the Capitol, Waterloo Greenway, and downtown. There is also an on-site music venue with below-market rate rents. "The HealthSouth development is another tool we are using to increase our affordable housing supply. Through this project, we add over 200 more affordable housing units downtown -- doubling the number that currently exist. We need more, but this is an important step," declared Mayor Steve Adler. The residential towers will total 921 units, of which more than 25% will be affordable housing for low-income Austin families. Half of the affordable units are multi-bedroom, family-oriented units (90 2-bedroom apartments and 23 3-bedroom apartments). The project also hosts an on-site childcare center provided at affordable tuition.
The 232 affordable units will comprise approximately 18 of the south tower's 27 floors, and will be developed, owned, and operated by NHP and Capital A.
"NHPF is excited to begin the work of partnering with Aspen Heights and Capital A Housing to bring hundreds of high quality affordable homes to Downtown Austin. We would like to thank City Council and especially Council Member Harper-Madison and Mayor Adler for their leadership in making Downtown a place that Austinites of all incomes can call home," said Neal Drobenare, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions for NHPF.
The project also provides some redress for a historic injustice. In the 1960s, the City of Austin moved forward on a so-called "urban renewal" program for this part of Downtown that displaced 475 households, including 218 families, to make way for the Brackenridge Hospital, the Frank Erwin Center, Waterloo Park, and multiple parking garages. This one project will reconcile that misguided decision by creating more than 900 new homes, with more units reserved for working-class Austinites (232) than were removed from the area (218) under Urban Renewal.
"It's important to remember this history of this area how, decades ago, the City of Austin liquidated a largely working-class community here in the name of urban renewal," said Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison. "The urgent need to reconcile those bad decisions is what drove me to push my colleagues to give our city staff more time to kick the tires on this proposal and ensure we ended up with this excellent outcome of close to a thousand new mixed-income homes with next-door access to parks, transit, affordable childcare, and a whole raft of other outstanding community benefits."
City Council approved negotiations for the Master Development Agreement (MDA) to proceed to finalize the terms between the City and partners governing the development, construction, and lease of a mixed-use residential development and associated infrastructure on the City-owned sites. City staff will return to Council when the MDA is finished for final approval of the 99-year lease and development agreement to move forward. However, staffers expect to execute the development agreement by spring of 2023 so as not to postpone the project's proposed delivery in summer of 2027.
For more information on 1215 Red River St. and 606 East 12th St. Development, please visit https://www.austintexas.gov/department/1215-red-river-606-east-12th.
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About The NHP Foundation
The NHP Foundation (NHPF) was launched on January 30, 1989, as a publicly supported 501(c)(3) not-for-profit real estate corporation. NHPF is dedicated to preserving and creating sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing, and single-family homes that are both affordable to low and moderate income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities. NHPF's Construction Management Group provides in-house resources dedicated to infrastructure review, infrastructure development and costs management. Through Family-Centered Coaching, NHPF's subsidiary Operation Pathways engages with, and assists, families experiencing poverty and other hardship, to problem-solve together. Through partnerships with major financial institutions, the public sector, faith-based initiatives, and other not-for-profit organizations, NHPF has 61 properties, including over 10,000 units, in 16 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, please visit nhpfoundation.org.
About Capital A Housing
Capital A Housing is an Austin-based and focused development company of affordable and mixed-income projects. It specializes in projects that range from a quarter acre to 50 acres and are responsive to neighborhood, city and elected official concerns, delivering outstanding amenities, affordability and services. Through its methodology, Capital A Housing accomplishes rezonings or other permissions that would typically be infeasible for more standard developments. For more information, please visit capitalahousing.com.
About Aspen Heights Partners
Aspen Heights Partners is a fully integrated real estate development company focused on creating spaces where people live, connect and learn. For more information, please visit
https://www.ahpliving.com/.
Media Contact
Marijane Funess, NHPF, 914.830.3754, [email protected]
SOURCE NHPF
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