More affordable housing coming to Austin's Mueller development
Shonda Novak @snovak999
Sep 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM Sep 25, 2018 at 9:14 PM
More affordable housing is underway at the Mueller neighborhood in Northeast Austin, this time on a new apartment building with units for working-class families and other income-qualified tenants, the developer said.
Construction recently started on the complex, a $40 million project called Aldrich 51 that is being developed by Austin-based DMA Development Company.
The four-story building will have 240 apartments and will be on the west side of Aldrich Street between Barbara Jordan Boulevard and 51st Street at Mueller, the city's former 700-acre airport site that continues its transformation into a large mixed-use development with housing, shopping, dining, entertainment, parks and other uses.
Aldrich 51 will have studio apartments and units with one, two and three bedrooms. DMA president Diana McIver said 85 percent of the 240 units will be earmarked for families, working couples, single parents and older adults who earn 30 percent to 60 percent of the area's median income, which ranges from $32,000 a year for one person to $41,250 a year for a family of four.
"This is such an incredible opportunity to place affordable housing within a neighborhood as family friendly and walkable as Mueller. And while these 240 units won't make a dent in the actual need for affordable rental units, it is a step in the right direction," McIver said.
Current data indicates that Austin has a shortage of 48,000 affordable housing units, up from a deficit of 37,000 units five years ago, city officials say.
Across all sizes of apartments, rents in the Austin metro area averaged $1,190 per month as of December, according to Austin-based real estate consulting firm Capitol Market Research. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,325 as of December, according to Capitol Market Research.
The first apartments at Aldrich 51 are expected to be ready in June 2017. Monthly rents for the affordable units will range from $350 for a studio with about 525 square feet to $1,075 a month to a three-bedroom with 1,200 square feet, McIver said.
The bulk of the affordable units — 139 — are expected to have rents ranging from $750 a month to $1,075 a month, she said.
The project also will have 36 units with market-rate rents, ranging from $1,350 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $2,200 for a three-bedroom unit, McIver said.
Social and educational activities, including computer training programs, financial counseling and poolside barbecues, will be provided on site at no cost to residents, she said.
McIver's company also developed Wildflower Terrace, a mixed-income complex at Mueller with 201 units for people 55 and older that opened four years ago.
McIver said she expects strong demand for the units at Aldrich 51, similar to what DMA experienced in leasing Wildflower Terrace.
"Wildflower Terrace has enjoyed full occupancy since its opening, with a lengthy waiting list when units become available," McIver said. "The need for affordable apartments for a younger workforce population, coupled with the attractive Mueller location and proximity to jobs, should ensure a rapid lease-up for Aldrich 51."
McIver said many of the tenants are expected to be employed at nearby service and retail establishments. The complex is two blocks from an H-E-B grocery at Mueller, and an Alamo Draft House theater and other new restaurants are under construction nearby.
Aldrich 51's financing includes about $10.3 million from RBC Capital, which purchased housing tax credits and $23.5 million in private mortgage financing through Boston Capital. In addition, the city of Austin contributed $4 million through its general obligation bond initiative and community development block grants.
Aldrich 51 will add to the affordable housing stock at Mueller, with such housing being one of the goals outlined in the development agreement between the City of Austin and Catellus Development Group. In 2002, the city selected Catellus to redevelop the former airport land into a mixed-use project that is about 70 percent complete to date.
As of December, Mueller had 1,050 affordable homes and apartments presently occupied or planned in the next phase, or 28 percent of the 3,750 current total in those categories, Catellus said.
Once completed, Mueller is expected have about 5,900 residential units, including at least 1,475 affordable homes and apartments, meeting the 25 percent requirement, and ultimately perhaps even exceeding it, Catellus said.
"It is becoming increasingly difficult for low- and moderate-income households to afford to live in areas of Austin with easy access to jobs, transportation, and other public services," said Jonathan Tomko, a planner in the city's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development department. "Developments like (Aldrich 51) help make that possible for more households."