Austin opens new affordable housing development in Southeast Austin

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Just days before Thanksgiving, some older residents have another thing to be thankful for: a safe, affordable place to live.

Tucked away in a corner of Southeast Austin sits the city’s newest affordable housing project, Ekos City Heights. The Austin Housing Finance Corporation and McDowell Housing Partners opened the new development Tuesday.

The Ekos City Heights will serve people 55 and older. It includes 179 apartments that are income restricted. Ten of them will be designated for people transitioning out of homelessness. Caritas of Austin, a local nonprofit, will provide on-site support services for these residents.

More and more older Texans are struggling to cover housing costs and getting priced out of the rental housing market. Having a safe and affordable place to live with access to services like health care and social events and classes is key to quality of life, Austin housing officials said.

David Gray, the city’s homeless strategy officer, said communities like Ekos are vital to serving this population.

“A lot of seniors are on a fixed income,” he said Tuesday. “Rent costs are going up and, unfortunately, the resources that seniors have just cannot compete with the rising rental market.”

The average monthly rent in Austin ranges roughly between $1,500 and $1,800. At Ekos, rents dip as low as $999 a month.

Overlooking woodland, the new development features a gym, computer lab, community garden and a swimming pool. The apartments – one- and two-bedrooms – include walk-in closets, kitchen appliances and washers and dryers.

Charles Gumucio, who oversees the property, said that in addition to the amenities, the management service is really important.

“Having the right people on staff to make sure that the people who move in are not just renters but are part of a community is what we are all about,” he said. “We try to create a community at all our properties, and the by the time this one is leased up, this will be a community of seniors living at our beautiful new property.”

The new facility is more than 213,000 square feet and cost $42 million. The city used a number of funding sources to pay for the project, including loans and the housing trust fund.

The property was about 31 percent leased as of Tuesday, but property leaders expect to be at capacity by March.

Of the 179 units:

• 110 are set aside for households at or below 50 percent of the median family income for a couple in Austin, or roughly $50,000.
• 59 apartments will be reserved for households at or below 80 percent of the MFI, or roughly $78,000.
• 10 apartments will be for households at or below 30 percent of the MFI, or roughly $30,000.
• 18 of the apartments will be accessible to persons with mobility impairments.
• 4 will be accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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Posted In: Housing, District 2