Correction
This article was updated to clarify that both affordable housing projects earned majority support from the Denton City Council. Mayor Gerard Hudpseth cast the dissenting vote against the Stella Haven development, while council voted unanimously to support the senior living facility.
An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect name for the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation.
Last week, City Council members unanimously approved two resolutions supporting 9% housing tax credit applications for two properties in the early stages of development, representing another step toward offering more affordable housing in Denton.
“Two applications in front of you are two of the most competitive applications this round,” Megan Lasch from O-SDA Industries told council members at the Feb. 6 meeting. “The two that you guys have an opportunity of submitting, of supporting tonight in our financing process are two of the top 10 in the state.”
The first application heard at the council meeting was for Stella Haven, a 90-unit apartment complex on 1.7 acres off Teasley Lane and Sundown Boulevard. O-SDA Industries and the Denton Affordable Housing Authority plan to offer units mostly at 30%, 50% and 60% of the area median income (about $90,000 for Denton County).
A few will be offered at 80% AMI. Rent would range from $580 to $2,145 monthly.
“The City of Denton’s Affordable Housing Strategic Toolkit includes a vision of increasing the supply of quality affordable accessible housing and creating mixed-income communities,” Lasch wrote in a Jan. 5 letter to staff. “One of the five strategies laid out in the toolkit is to increase infill development. Stella Haven would be creating affordable units on a currently vacant lot in an otherwise fully developed area.”
The other application was from the Venico Group, an affordable housing developer, for the Cairn Point Carroll Apartments, a senior-living facility on 4.9 acres off North Carroll Boulevard, if council grants a zoning change request.
Located at what is now a nursing home, the Cairn Point facility would offer about 90 efficiency units with kitchens for seniors in need at 30%, 50% and 60% AMI. Estimated rent would be from $580 to $1,160 monthly.
The developer said it's also working with a consultant to preserve the historic aspects of the current property to receive a historic designation from the state.
Both developers were competing in the 9% housing tax credit program offered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. They needed council support to earn points that could lead to their funding approval in July.
The TDHCA ranks applicants within each region of the state, scoring points based on nearby services available for residents, such as a library, park or school, and for community support.
“A large part of our scoring has to do with dispersion,” Lasch said. “[The] two sites are highly competitive in this process because there’s not affordable housing in these areas.”
Denton is located in Region 3, the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and competes against affordable housing projects in cities from Sherman to Mesquite all the way to Mansfield for the 9% housing tax credits, Lasch said.
Although in previous years the number of applications was closer to 70, Lasch said 50 applications were filed this year, with only eight to 10 receiving funding.
“It is impressive that you have the opportunity to have two good affordable housing projects in a city, when there’s many cities that are left on that list without getting an opportunity since there is a limited amount of funding,” Lasch said.
Five affordable housing projects appeared on the Feb. 6 agenda seeking council support for the 9% housing tax credit offered by the state. Three withdrew their requests due to the highly competitive nature of the application process, city staff told council.
One plans to return at a future date to seek council support for a 4% housing tax credit also offered by the state in a program that's not as competitive.
At the Feb. 6 council meeting, not everyone was supportive of the Stella Haven project.
Several residents who live near the vacant lot shared their concerns during the open mic period. They mentioned issues such as an increase in traffic, child pedestrian safety due to the increased traffic, an elementary school already at capacity and a battle with people trying to use the neighborhood’s pool and park. They also worried about the lack of green space.
Denton resident Kristine Bray, who supports Stella Haven, pointed out that 13,000 cars per hour travel Teasley Lane and that 150 cars leaving the apartment complex wouldn’t have a strong impact on the number.
Bray, founder of Abundance Denton, a grassroots organization that focuses on access to transportation and housing, then shared a story about a woman experiencing homelessness, like hundreds of others in Denton, and living in her car.
“That is for many people the alternative to new affordable housing,” Bray said. “I wonder how much green space her minivan had in it.”
Residents also claimed they had just found out about the apartment complex the day before the council meeting. Lasch told council they had been trying to contact the neighborhood association since early December.
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth reminded the neighbors that council’s support of the tax credit application doesn't mean the complex would be built. Although the property’s zoning allows a multifamily development, Hudspeth said Stella Haven will still need to meet the city’s development criteria when it comes to amenities like green space and parking.
That fact was reiterated by other council members and staff.
“I feel like we’ve already been beaten,” one neighbor told the council shortly before the unanimous vote. “You’re supposed to be here for all of us, not just the lower income or higher income or anyone else. It’s for everyone, start to finish.”