Affordability Unlocked FTW

I was alerted to an Instagram account — Save South First — opposing a 120-unit development at the corner of S. 1st and Cumberland in the Galindo neighborhood.

The objections are the usual: parking, traffic, neighborhood character. The exact same complaints I heard against a project in my own backyard here in Ambler, Pa. (I was the only one who showed up to speak in favor. And yes, I have made some friends.)

What is unusual is that the objections are almost certainly futile. As far as I can tell, there's no way for them to stop the project because it doesn't need to be rezoned. The base zoning would not typically allow a development of this height, but this project qualifies for Affordability Unlocked, the 7-year-old ordinance authored by Greg Casar that exempts projects that are at least 50% "affordable" from a variety of development regs.

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This goes back to what I said yesterday about the density bonus program. If it's a zoning category that requires a zoning case, then it's going to produce a lot less housing than if the entitlements are established "by-right."

The project itself by Notional Development is pretty unusual. Most projects that benefit from Affordability Unlocked are 100% subsidized housing projects built by developers using federal housing tax credits. This appears to be a blend of market-rate and income-restricted and includes ground-floor restaurant/retail space.

Affordability Unlocked requires half of the units to be priced for those at 60% of the area median income. But 20% of the units must be priced at 50% AMI. And a quarter of all of the affordable units must have at least two bedrooms.

For context, here are the Travis County income figures:

And here are the max rents based on income:

$1,411 for a studio is hardly a steal, but $1,815 for two bedrooms is a very good deal in that area. The Mercury, a new apartment complex just a few blocks away, is charging $2,900 for 2BR units.

And again, the compression in prices between income-restricted units and market-rate units will probably not last forever. Housing prices could very well shoot up again.

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