Sam Houston Elementary affordable housing project looking at summer construction start

“Say you're a single mom, like my mom was, or a nurse, EMS worker, waiter downtown, bartender, it's not always feasible to go out and buy a house,” Engstrom said. “We've just been seeing the cost of housing skyrocket, and so with a place like this, you know, you're able to serve so many people and you're able to provide them with really cool quality housing.”

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The total available units on the property will be 71, open to residents with a median income of about $22,000 to $70,000, Engstrom said.

The breakdown of the available 71 units is as follows:

• 14 studio units
• 32 one-bedroom units
• 17 two-bedroom units
• 8 three-bedroom units

“We have a growing aging population that needs some alternative housing, with essentially the moratorium of multifamily units in the city limits kind of being squashed,” Harper said. “This gives those individuals an affordable place to stay.”

Taking into account the community's original desires for a performing arts venue, Engstrom says that the property will also have a dedicated unit for an artists' resident program.