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Tuesday, Sep. 15, 1998
Apartments planned on Southside for lower-income renters
Units will cater to working families, with rents between $400 and $560
By GLASTON FORD
Staff WriterWhile construction winds down on two high-end apartment complexes, some relief is on the way for Corpus Christi's lower-income renters.
An Austin-based development company, Flores-Elizondo and Associates, will build a new 196-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Corpus Christi later this year or early next year, the company said.
The $14.1 million project, built with the assistance of a $1.07 million federal tax credit, will target families making 60 percent or less of Corpus Christi's median household income, said developer Ezequiel ``Kelly'' Elizondo, a former assistant city manager and former director of the city of Corpus Christi's Office of Housing and Community Development. For a family of four, that works out to an annual income of $22,900 or less, Elizondo said.
South Pointe Apartments will be built on 14 acres at the southeast corner of Staples Street and Curtis Clark Drive, he said.
``What we are talking about is providing housing for working people that make a combined income of around $10 an hour or less,'' Elizondo said. ``This is strictly for working families. The family has to have the capacity to pay the rent. Most of them are young families on the way to home ownership.''
The complex will feature 990-square-foot, 2-bedroom apartments and 1,200-square-foot, 3-bedroom units. All apartments will have two bathrooms. The complex will have amenities such as a swimming pool, a 3,000-square-foot community building and a racquetball or basketball court, Elizondo said.
Projects like this are needed because all the new projects are for high-end renters, which means low-income people are renting deteriorating units, said Greg Thorse, president of Apartment MarketData Research Services in San Antonio.
``These are win/win projects because the developer wins because they can make money on the deal,'' Thorse said. ``The residents win because they get brand new units at an affordable rent.''
Developers have a hard time building new projects that are also affordable, he said. The tax credit encourages low-income housing, he said.
The project will receive $1,066,523 in tax credits through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, said Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs officials.
Rents will be restricted, probably between $400 and $560 a month, and based on median family income, Elizondo said.
That is substantially less than the rents charged at the new high-end complexes such as Bay Point Resort Apartments and the Arbors on Saratoga. Both complexes have starting rents of more than $600, climbing above $1,000 for three-bedroom apartments.
Flores-Elizondo is also building Cimmaron Estates, a 180-unit complex on Cimmaron Boulevard near Saratoga Boulevard, for low-income elderly residents. The $11.1 million project should be complete by late November or early December, Elizondo said. More than 30 people have signed a waiting list for Cimmaron Estates and the complex has not even opened its leasing office, he added.
Staff writer Glaston Ford can be reached at 886-3678 or by e-mail at fordg@scripps.comPost your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web