Plano City Council delays decision on affordable housing community tax credit application

Plano City Council moved to table a request to provide no objection to a tax credit for the proposed K Avenue lofts multifamily development in Plano.

The no objection would be included in the developers application for a 4% housing tax credit from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the affordable housing community. Staff is reviewing whether or not a no objection is needed to apply.

The 5.3 acres of land on the corner of K Avenue and Park Boulevard was rezoned from commercial to a planned development space at a Feb. 23 meeting, and The Plano Housing Authority is currently under contract to purchase the now rezoned land from the city of Plano for the proposed multifamily community. The development expects to include up to 226 apartments made up of a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Forty-seven units will be open to any renter, while 179 units will be restricted to workforce households at 60% of the area median income, or approximately $60,000 maximum gross income.

The Community Relations Commission reviewed the application in January and determined the application met four out of the five threshold questions, which were set by city council policy. Following the consideration of housing de-concentration factors, the commission found the application eligible for a resolution of no objection from city council, according to staff documentation.

The tax credit would apply to investments by the developers in order to pay for the construction of the multifamily complex, and is not directly related to property taxes, council member Rick Grady said. Without this housing tax credit, developers would have to review if the project is financially possible, said Darren Smith, head of development with developers MVAH Partners, at the March 16 meeting.

The city approved support of three applications for 9% housing tax credits at a Feb. 8 meeting. Nine percent tax credit applications are considered competitive and are submitted only once a year, while 4% applications are accepted year-round. City approval of a resolution of no objection would not indicate support for any proposed plans, staff said.

The state department is ultimately the decision maker on whether or not the property would receive the tax credit, staff shared.

A motion for the item to be tabled pending further information was called by council member Shelby Williams following a private executive discussion by council. Williams called for the tabling after withdrawing a motion to deny the request for a resolution of no objection.