Fort Worth affordable housing projects receive $8 million in state tax credits

Four prospective affordable housing developments in Fort Worth have received $2 million each in tax credits from the state’s public housing authority.

The grants, announced Thursday, provide a significant incentive for developers to push forward with their projects, which, upon completion, would provide welcome financial respite to a growing segment of the city that struggles to pay rent.

“The Housing Tax Credit Program serves as a crucial factor in making affordable housing available to hard working families, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities,” Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs executive director Bobby Wilkinson said in a statement.

The agency doled out around $97 million in tax credits to 63 rental projects across the state.

Fort Worth received grants for four of the seven developments supported by its City Council . Read more about the recipients below.

Georgian Oaks

Austin-based developer O-SDA plans to convert the vacant cubicles and meeting rooms of the historic Binyon-O’Keefe storage facility into 95 subsidized rental units for older adults.

The property, a six-minute walk from Sundance Square, spans 0.67 acres. O-SDA submitted early drafts of the project to Fort Worth planning officials for review in February. Planning documents priced the initiative at $13 million.

Maren Grove

O-SDA intends to build another tree-themed apartment complex around five miles south of downtown. Maren Grove promises 90 affordable units just beside the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur convent off Hemphill Street.

Last month, the developers requested a “certificate of appropriateness” from the city’s Historical and Cultural Landmarks Commission to build the complex in front of the Victory Arts Center. Commissioners unanimously denied their request .

Delara Chase

The state will help bankroll a separate O-SDA project along Altamesa Boulevard in Wedgwood. Only 6 of Delara Chase’s 116 units will be rented at market rates; the rest will be set aside for low-income families. O-SDA will acquire and revamp an apartment complex (owned by a different firm) currently occupying the site.

Hughes House III

The third phase of the sprawling Hughes House development in Stop Six added $2 million in Texas funds to tens of millions in federal support it secured in 2020.

Developer McCormack Baron Salazar and Fort Worth Housing Solutions, the city’s public housing authority, broke ground on the project’s first units in September 2021 and welcomed its first residents last fall.

Hughes House will total roughly 1,000 units upon completion, more than tripling the residences offered by its storied predecessor, Cavile Place. Hughes House III will house just 78 residences, 54 reserved for low-income families and the remaining 24 floated on the market.

The entire undertaking is expected to cost $334 million.