The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) recommends approval of a Resolution allowing construction of one property applying for competitive 9% housing tax credits (HTCs) allocated by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) that will be located within one mile of similar properties constructed within the last three years.

Approval of this resolution does not guaranty the property will receive HTCs. Even though numerous applications are submitted to TDHCA, the amount of available 9% HTCs is very limited. Only two to four developments are typically funded each year in the Houston region. It will not be known which, if any, of these projects will receive HTCs until the end of July 2018 when awards are announced at the TDHCA board meeting.

To avoid unwanted concentrations of HTC properties, TDHCA requires that an applicant receive a resolution from the governing body of the municipality where the development is to be located if a similar type of property (for example a property for seniors) built in the last three years and located within one mile of the applicant property also received tax credits. One property in this year’s round of applications for 9% tax credits fits this criteria:

Scott Street Lofts, 1320 Scott St, is a proposed 80-unit development for families. The applicant is Scott Street Lofts, LP, and the developer is Mark-Dana Corporation. The Mark-Dana Corporation has built and developed over 1500 affordable housing units across Texas and Virginia using tax credits and re-syndicated.

Based on the close proximity to a light rail station, the developer’s experience, and the City’s need for affordable housing for families, HCDD recommends that Council approve the resolution allowing construction of this property. This resolution must be submitted with the Resolution of Support previously approved for the applicant, and is due to TDHCA by March 1, 2018.

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Tom McCasland, Director