Project Connect anti-displacement funding gets close look from Community Development Commission

Members of the Community Development Commission have requested more information from city staff about the decision-making process for spending Project Connect funds intended to preserve or create affordable housing near the mass transit system.

Last week, the commission received a presentation that detailed how the city has so far spent approximately $120 million of the $300 million in Project Connect money that was dedicated to anti-displacement efforts. The city plans to spend $20 million per year for the next nine budget cycles on anti-displacement efforts, targeting purchases or partnerships within 1 mile of rail or bus lines. Priority will also be given to properties that could be linked together, as well as the preservation of existing affordable units and properties that could be developed in phases.

To date, four major properties for multifamily projects have been acquired with the Project Connect money, with 160 existing units and a hundred more planned. The largest of those is the 66 acres of undeveloped property acquired for $27 million as part of the city’s purchase of the former headquarters for Tokyo Electron earlier this year. Other smaller purchases completed using Project Connect funds have preserved 109 affordable units and created 171 units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people, with 1,304 rental units and 113 ownership units planned. In addition, the Tokyo Electron land sits next to 18 acres of undeveloped property the city already owns, which offers the possibility of a large multiphased project more than 80 acres in size.

In reference to the Anti-Displacement Community Acquisition Program, Commissioner Jose Elias said the city should have a lower income cap than the 80 percent of median family income that is in place for projects in that program.

“I would think that we would try to target something lower for homeownership as well. If the target or the cap is at 80 percent MFI, my opinion is that that’s pretty high,” he said. “The city of Austin minimum wage is about $21, so two employees at city of Austin as a couple would be at less than 80 percent, so they wouldn’t fall under that.”

Alex Radtke, development manager for the Housing Department, said the guidelines for the ADCAP program are scheduled for a review soon, which could include the desired income caps.

Elias also questioned how the city planned to address the potential heat island effect at the Tokyo Electron property once it is developed because of the potential removal of a large number of trees on the currently untouched land.

Commissioner Bertha Delgado questioned the city’s selection criteria for awarding money to nonprofit developers through the ADCAP program, noting that the Austin Revitalization Authority’s five projects totaling roughly $2.8 million far surpass the one $240,000 award for the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation.

“That’s been their problem – they don’t have enough funding as well as they didn’t have a lot of land opportunities so it was really kind of sad to see that, especially in East Austin … we don’t see that anti-displacement funding going to our area,” she said. “I just want to see if you’re giving the opportunities to all nonprofits that have the same qualifications that they do, and that is there a fair system. There should be two for Austin (Revitalization Authority), two for Guadalupe, two for Blackland Development, two for Meals on Wheels, two for Habitat for Humanity.”

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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