Partially Affordable Austin Project Moves Forward
NHPF, Capital A Housing and Aspen Heights joined forces with the City to develop the 921-unit community that will include 232 affordable units.
The Austin City Council has approved negotiations on a plan to transform the former HealthSouth hospital site into a partially affordable multifamily project. A joint venture between The NHP Foundation, Capital A Housing and Aspen Heights is set to develop the 921-unit mixed-income community in downtown Austin.
The redevelopment will encompass 232 affordable units, all owned, developed and operated by Capital A and NHPF. Most of them will be family-oriented, multi-bedroom apartments.
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Located at 1215 Red River St. near Interstate 35, the development is slated to encompass a pair of 37-story buildings on an entire block bounded by 12th, Red River and Sabine streets, as well as a new 13th Street. The community will be close to many dining options, retail spaces, entertainment venues and green areas, such as Waterloo Park, Texas Capitol and Bullock Texas State History Museum. Del Seton Medical Center will be within a 4-minute walk from the new building and The University of Texas at Austin will be 0.4 miles away.
Rectifying past mistakes
In the 60s, the urban renewal program initiated by the City of Austin displaced 475 working-class households from this part of Downtown to make place for other developments, such as the Brackenridge Hospital, Waterloo Park and parking garages.
The redevelopment project was first proposed in early 2020, but rejected in July 2022. Soon after, the Council agreed to provide the developer more time to secure additional funding for the project and add more affordable housing units to the mix.
The negotiations for the Master Development Agreement between the city and the partners involved in the project were approved by the City Council. Groundbreaking is expected in spring 2023, with proposed delivery of the project in summer 2027.
NHPF has been an active player in the affordable housing space. The developer is also working on a renovation project in Washington, D.C., known as Ridgecrest Village Phase I. In Chicago, NHPF recently acquired $18.3 million in financing for the renovations of a Section 8 community featuring 57 units.