Experience pays – plans for the second phase of the Courtyard Apartments is proof positive of that.

Wednesday, March 22, 2000

Experience pays – plans for the second phase of the Courtyard Apartments is proof positive of that. In the case of the Courtyard Apartments, five years of experience means local taxes won’t be affected. Unlike Courtyard I, there will be no tax increment financing and no portion of the tax levy returned to Courtyard II.

"Being able to look the taxpayer in the eye and say that we’re not subsidizing is a good feeling," Dick Chaffee, Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board member and Austin City Council member at-large, said at the HRA’s board meeting Tuesday.

The city of Austin is putting funds into the project, but the money – a total of $1.3 million – will be paid back to the city at an interest rate of 6.5 percent.

"It’s an investment," HRA Director Kermit Mahan said. "Rather than investing the money somewhere else, it goes to the HRA. However, the city will be getting the same return as it is getting now."

According to Mahan, there are 143 people on a waiting list who are "definitely interested" in moving into the Courtyard Apartments and another 60 who are what he called "tire kickers," meaning that the Courtyard Apartments are a possible future option.

Mahan should know. Both the existing and planned Courtyard Apartments are entirely the responsibility of the HRA. Rent for the one- and two-bedroom apartments ranges from $581 to $796 per month, depending on the apartment. Although there is no age limit for residency there, it is older people who fill the bulk of the apartments.

"We’re providing a service here," Mahan said, "not trying to make a profit … With the first one we thought it would have an impact on the for-sale market in Austin. Now we know we will. It happened rather dramatically after the first project."

The idea – other than providing decent rental housing at an affordable price – is to draw older Austin residents out of their single-family homes and into the apartments in downtown Austin. It is the HRA’s version of the "trickle-down theory," only this one means that single-family homes trickle onto the market as empty-nesters and senior citizens move to the Courtyard’s more convenient location.

There will be a public hearing on the project April 12 in the HRA offices. If approved, construction is scheduled to start in mid-May.