Foundation Communities Plans 109-unit Affordable Project

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Foundation Communities plans to build a residential project with affordable units at 2800 S. Lamar Blvd.—a booming area with upscale multifamily projects. The local nonprofit could build the 109-unit project on a site that currently houses a Goodwill retail store.

The entire project, called Skyview Studios, would cost $15 million to build, out of which the developer hopes to receive $10 million in federal tax credits, according to The Austin-American Statesman. If the project receives the credits, the Austin City Council will contribute with $1.8 million to fund the project. The rest of the money needed to build the community would come from fundraising.

The four-story building is planned to have a new 14,000-square-foot Goodwill store on the ground floor and more parking lots than the initial store – a total of 60 spaces. Monthly rates would range between $400 and $650 a month including utilities, said Walter Moreau, executive director of Foundation Communities, as quoted by the The Statesman. Skyview Studios, with units of about 400 square feet, will target individuals with annual incomes under $26,000.

If all goes according to plan, construction could begin in the spring of 2014, with completion expected to happen a year thereafter. When complete, Skyview will be the sixth apartment community developed by Foundation Communities in Austin—with a total number of 600 affordable units.

The project has received a lot of support from philanthropists and different local associations, being one of the few current developments to provide housing for low-income people in Austin. Although the city is booming with apartment projects, most of the multifamily communities planned in the area offer luxury units and not enough affordable ones.

Photo rendering of Capital Studios, another affordable project developed by Foundation Communities in Austin

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