Known as The Loretta, the $33.6 million community will be the sister community to Lakeline Station, which has been open since 2016. The Loretta will be located at 13649 Rutledge Spur, Austin.
Executive Director Walter Moreau said The Loretta—one of eight apartment complexes Foundation Communities has in the works—is part of the organization’s plans to house more Central Texans. Moreau said the nonprofit received 10 times more applications than units available for its last two communities.
“Our whole culture is about action. We want to help folks and address the challenges and needs of our community. That’s what’s led us to build affordable housing and the kinds of services that really lift folks up,” Moreau said at a May 25 event announcing the nonprofit’s plans.
The Loretta will have its own staff and management but share the services that are provided at Lakeline Station, including financial planning and a learning center with after-school and summer programs for children.
“The most important thing I learned was how to manage my money better,” Lakeline Station resident Iyanna Burns said at the May event. “The financial coach taught me how to set financial goals. ... I made up my mind that I was going to do everything they asked me to do, and it has paid off.”
Moreau said the nonprofit’s goal is to expand to every corner of the city.
“We really believe philosophically that ideally, we should have affordable housing north, south, east and west, it should be in all parts of town,” Moreau said in an interview with Community Impact Newspaper.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the choice for the city to help fund the projects of organizations like Foundation Communities is easy. In order to build The Loretta, Foundation Communities is receiving $4 million in housing bonds from the city.
“We have a real apparent Achilles’ heel: that is how expensive it is to live here, how increasingly hard it is for everyone who lives here to live here,” Adler said. “We’re losing people, and that’s existential for a city like Austin that is all about its people.”
One of the ways Foundation Communities lowers the cost of living is through sustainable design, which helps reduce the cost of utilities.
“Affordable housing is not just cheap rent. It’s also your monthly utility bills,” Moreau said. “We’re a forever owner; we don’t sell the properties; they’re not investments. So that gives us a different perspective on durability.”
Find more information and sign up for The Loretta’s interested list at https://foundcom.org/housing/ future-communities.
