The city of Leander received requests from three developers in January—each proposing to construct affordable senior housing projects within the city limits—and two of the three projects received resolutions from Leander City Council in February.

Each of the developers were seeking to utilize the affordable housing tax credit program administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to compete for low-income housing tax credits for their projects. The program is funded by the U.S. Treasury Department and directs funds for the development of affordable rental housing for low-income residents, according to the TDHCA.

In exchange for constructing a portion of the housing projects as affordable rental housing, some of the developments that applied for the program will be awarded tax credits to offset a portion of their federal tax liability.

As part of the application process, points are granted to applicants who receive local government support for their project. Representatives of two of those projects—The Hills at Leander and Leander Place—were asked to appear before Leander City Council in February.

One of the developments aiming to build in Leander is competing in the state credit program under the competitive category, and the other is competing in the noncompetitive category. According to the TDHCA, the noncompetitive proposals are accepted year-round and can also utilize bond financing.
Applications for the competitive projects were due to the state department on March 1. The TDHCA releases final scoring in mid-May, and its board approves final awards for the competitive projects in late July.

Representatives from both The Hills at Leander and Leander Place said they will not move forward with these exact low-income projects if their developments are not selected for housing tax credits with the TDHCA.

Leander Place

Acreage: The site is roughtly 11.7 acres, though the project would sit on slightly less than 7 acres.
Developer: Picerne Development Corp. of Florida
Proposed project: age-restricted senior and low-income housing development
Units: The project could hold 70 units; 60 units could be affordable, and 10 units could listed at the current market-rate.
Housing tax credit program: competing in noncompetitive category
Funding: The development would pay full property taxes.
Requested: The developer asked City Council for a resolution expressing support for the project and a letter stating the city will provide a loan, a grant, reduced fees or contribution of other value for the benefit of the development.
Vote from City Council: Council members approved a resolution expressing support for the project and approved a letter that agreed to reduce the building permit fees for the housing project by 1 percent but not less than $100.

The Hills at Leander

Acreage: The project would sit on a roughly 10-acre site.
Developer: KCG Development Inc.
Proposed project: age-restricted senior and low-income housing development
Units: The project could hold 228 units, of which 80 percent would be affordable, and the other 20 percent would be market-rate.
Housing tax credit program: competing in noncompetitive category
Funding: The developer has partnered with the nonprofit organization Capital Area Housing Finance Corp., so a representative with KCG Development said the project would be exempt from property taxes for the length of the developer’s bond. The owner would give the city a “payment in lieu of taxes” annually for the length of the bond, which would be equal to the value of property taxes that would be generated by the property, according to the developer of the project.
Requested: The developer asked for a resolution of no objection.
Vote from City Council: Council approved a resolution of no objection for the project.

Sources: City of Leander/Community Impact Newspaper