In Houston, HTG Gets to Work on Affordable Community

Housing Trust Group has begun building The Rushmore, a 101-unit multifamily community in Houston. Most of the units are classified as affordable.

Eighty-five of the residences will be reserved for low-income occupants, variously for those earning at or below 30 percent, 50 percent and 60 percent of the area median income, while 16 units will be available at market rate. AMI for this location in Houston is $95,200 a year, according to Freddie Mac.

Located at 800 Highway 6 S, not far south of Interstate 10 in the Energy Corridor district of Houston west of downtown, The Rushmore will consist of 32 one-bedroom, 50 two-bedroom and 19 three-bedroom units. Rents will range from $532 to $1,875 per month.

Common-area amenities will include a resort-style swimming pool, community club room, workroom, fitness center, game room, and a designated dog walking path. The Rushmore will offer resident-focused services such as annual income tax preparation, career training and partnerships, and notary services during business hours. There will also be quarterly social events with law enforcement and first responders, and bimonthly arts and crafts events.

The Harris County Housing Financing Corp. is the general partner for the project, providing a 99-year ground lease to ensure long-term affordability. Typical for affordable housing developments, financing for the property is a complex mix.

Funding sources include $20 million in construction financing from Citi Community Capital, $15.2 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits syndicated through Raymond James and $3 million in HOME financing from the City of Houston. Harris County also provided a $5.9 million American Rescue Plan Act loan, and Citi Community Capital also provided an $8.1 million permanent loan.

The Rushmore is Miami-based HTG’s first development in Houston, and its third in Texas. The company develops and manages affordable housing and workforce housing, but also market-rate housing, and mixed-use developments.

Houston’s severe shortage

Metro Houston has the nation’s second most severe shortage of affordable and available rental homes, with just 15 available per 100 extremely low-income households (those at or below 30 percent of AMI), according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Only metro Las Vegas has a more severe shortage for such households.

Though the affordable housing shortage in Houston is pronounced, it is unusual, with extremely low-income renters facing the hardest conditions in Nevada, Arizona, California, Alaska, Florida and Texas. Statewide, Texas has only 25 available homes per 100 for such households, NLIHC notes.

Without public subsidy, the organization says, what renters with extremely low incomes can afford to pay for rent doesn’t cover the development and operating costs of new housing. But the problem is worse than that: Rents at that level are often insufficient to encourage landlords to maintain older housing, which is where extremely low-income renters tend to live.