The 120-unit community would offer monthly rents between $600 and $700. The 120-unit community would offer monthly rents between $600 and $700.[/caption]

A proposed low-income multifamily property in Northwest Austin called Cardinal Point Apartments was awarded $1.5 million in state housing tax credits July 30.

The governing board for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which oversees the housing tax credit program, awarded more than $63 million in tax credits to 64 applications throughout the state during its board meeting.

Nonprofit Foundation Communities is developing Cardinal Point, located at 11011 1/2 Four Points Drive near the intersection of RM 2222 and RM 620. Executive Director Walter Moreau previously told Community Impact Newspaper future residents of the property likely would work within 2 miles of the site. Rent would range from $600-$700 per month, and the site would have a learning center and after-school program, he said.

The property has garnered opposition from Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman in District 6 as well as the River Place and Grandview Hills neighborhoods. The River Place homeowners association filed a statement with the TDHCA on Feb. 27 opposing the complex because of increased traffic concerns and lack of bus service to the Four Points area.

Tax credits allow developers to cover 70 percent of low-income housing construction costs and pass on the savings to low-income renters. Tenants earning up to 60 percent of the area median family income are eligible to live in properties built using tax credits.

Low-income housing units proposed in Northwest Austin The program is funded through the U.S. Treasury Department and is overseen by the IRS. The goal is to use private dollars to create affordable housing.[/caption]

Before Foundation Communities and other properties could access the tax credits, recipients must meet several milestones, said Gordon Anderson, senior communications adviser for the TDHCA.

First recipients must produce documents for the IRS and line up conventional funding. Tax credits are only released after the property is built and fully leased, which typically takes 18 to 24 months, Anderson said.

One other property in the Austin area was also awarded tax credits, LaMadrid Apartments near Ravenscroft Drive and Manchaca Road in Southwest Austin. Projects on the waiting list include Merritt Cornerstone at Howard Lane and McNeil Drive; and The Monarch at Lakeline Station near Lake Creek Parkway and Lakeline Mall Drive.

For more information visit www.foundcom.org and www.tdhca.state.tx.us.