Members of the Apex Austin group grilled developer Mike Podawiltz for two and a half hours Wednesday afternoon, wanting more and more details about the proposed Murphy’s Creek Housing development.

Thursday, March 16, 2000

Members of the Apex Austin group grilled developer Mike Podawiltz for two and a half hours Wednesday afternoon, wanting more and more details about the proposed Murphy’s Creek Housing development.

In the end, the question was not whether Apex will support the mixed-housing development, but to the tune of how much.

As proposed, the development would include 88 townhomes and 63 single-family homes for a total of 151 housing units. The units would be a mixture of market rate and "affordable" units, for rent, purchase and rent-to-own. The development would be located off Fourth Street NW, at the city’s Lone Oak property, most recently the home of the Pacelli Corn Maze. The primary goal of the development is to answer the needs for affordable housing – it includes rental, for sale and rent-to-own components – while maintaining economic integration in an attractive development.

The figure that stuck out in the end, however, was $3 million. That’s how much the Austin Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Podawiltz Development Corp. are hoping to get from foundations, be it the Hormel Foundation and Apex, the Mayo Foundation or a combination of both.

"Are we starting to solve our affordable housing problem for the average plant worker," Apex co-chairman Jerry Anfinson said. "Is this project of enough magnitude that it’s a good start?"

While Anfinson and other Apex members agreed that the development answered many housing needs, several members thought that a critical piece missing in Austin’s housing pie is the single-room, or efficiency apartment, that might house more temporary workers or those who still are looking for a more permanent option.

Co-chairman Glen Baker was concerned that the $16 million development might require too much of the $5 million Apex is charged with allocating for the Hormel Foundation.

"I think we need some generalized budget first," Baker said, "so we have an idea of where this group’s money should go."

Try as he might, however, Baker couldn’t get HRA Director Kermit Mahan or Podawiltz to come out with specific funding figures.

"We’re trying to avoid setting thresholds right now," Mahan said. "We are working with a number of different funding sources, but nothing is certain yet."

Both Anfinson and Mahan said after the meeting that they were pleased with the work session. A larger Apex group is meeting at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Riverland Community College teleconference room to share the progress of all the committees. The Murphy’s Creek proposal will be discussed then too, Anfinson said after the meeting.

"We’d like to have at least a tentative consensus from the group about the housing pieces before the foundation meeting April 11," Anfinson said. "I’m pleased though, with the progress of the entire group. We’re light years ahead of where I thought we would be by now."