In a nutshell
City Council unanimously voted to up the maximum number of apartment units for senior multifamily projects to 30 units per acre. The maximum density for multifamily projects has ranged from 10-20 units per acre over the last 15 years, City Manager Jason Stuebe said.
The change was made to help Skymark Development LLC with a senior apartment project that has been planned for the Humble area, Stuebe said. Skymark is developing Townsen Landing, a 130-unit complex for seniors to be located on a 10-acre lot near Deerbrook Mall, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“Our hope in doing this is to foster the development of that project,” Stuebe said. “We know that we need quality senior, multi-family housing here.”
The specifics
The April 10 ordinance changes require projects to include at least 80% of units for people ages 55 and older, Stuebe said. The regulations also prevent someone from converting a senior living property into another type of housing later.
“We're protected against any other apartment development projects that would not be desirable, but during my time [as mayor], for 11 years, we've been wanting to get [the Skymark project] done,” Mayor Norman Funderburk said.
Stay tuned
Leadership at Skymark said the new density rules will allow them to start building the Townsen Landing apartments this year, Funderburk said.
Jessica Shorten contributed to this report.
