On Feb. 28, Georgetown City Council members approved three resolutions of support for affordable housing developments to apply for housing tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

One of the projects, Gateway Northwest Apartments, is planned for development at Northwest Boulevard and Washam Drive and is expected to be 180 income-restricted units. Rents would range from about $360–$1,000 depending on income level and apartment size, Texas Housing Foundation CEO Mark Mayfield said.

Texas Housing Foundation is seeking noncompetitive tax credits that, along with multifamily private activity bonds, will help fund the project's construction. Once financing is approved, Mayfield said he hopes to break ground on the project in September and begin leasing units in spring 2013.

District 5 Councilwoman Pat Berryman said she wanted to postpone a decision until the city could determine the development's impact on the school district and said she was concerned with the number of units being added to the area.

"I don't doubt that it's viable. My question is, is it wise as a city for us to choose to put this many low-income, affordable houses in such close proximity to one another where they impact one set of schools and one population of homes?" Berryman said.

City Manager Paul Brandenburg said developers are starting to see a "pent-up" demand for multifamily affordable housing, and he expects to see more requests from developers for resolutions of support in the future.

"Just looking at the economy, a lot of single-family home owners went bankrupt or were foreclosed on. Also, you've had people who have had difficulty borrowing money for their single-family home. So you have a huge demand out there for—I'm not going to say low-income or affordable, I'm just going to say apartments or multifamily units that are out there," Brandenburg said at the meeting. "I think Georgetown right now is at an about 97 percent occupancy, so that is a very tight market."

The resolution was approved 5–2 with Berryman and District 2 Councilman Troy Hellman voting against.

Palladium (USA) International Inc. is also seeking housing tax credits and HOME Partnership Programs funds to build Kiron at Mesquite Lane, which would include 82 units and be located at 2805 Mesquite Lane. The council resolution was approved 5–2 with Berryman and District 7 Councilman Tommy Gonzalez voting against.

The council also approved a resolution of support for Georgetown Senior Ltd., which is seeking housing tax credits for Georgetown Senior, a 120 unit age- and income-restricted complex to be located at 410 Shell Road. The resolution was approved 6–1 with Berryman voting against.

The three complexes seeking housing tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to build affordable, multifamily apartments would include housing for families and individuals making up to 60 percent of the Area Median Family Income. Some units would also be set aside for those making up to 30 percent and 50 percent of the AMFI.

In Williamson County, the AMFI is $75,900 for a family of four. At 60 percent of the AMFI, the household can earn up to $45,500 a year, while a single person could earn up to $31,900 a year and still qualify.

Developers seeking tax credits from TDHCA to built units in Georgetown must get a resolution of support from the City Council before applying because of a formula from TDHCA that says Georgetown has twice as many tax credit units than other cities in Texas of similar size, Georgetown Housing Coordinator Jennifer Bills said.

"We have two times per capita the amount of tax credits. The trick of that is it is every city across Texas that is our size, not just cities in major metropolitan areas," Bills said. "So of course, your small town in West Texas is not going to have apartments, or not nearly as many because they don't need them."

Housing tax credits are used to build apartments that must remain affordable for at least 15 years. Developers can also have a percentage of apartment units available at market-rate rents.