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Apartment project with affordable rents planned for South Austin Goodwill site

By Shonda Novak American-Statesman Staff Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013

Amid a sea of luxury apartments under construction on South Lamar Boulevard, Foundation Communities is planning an oasis of affordability — 109 inexpensive rentals in a pioneering project with Goodwill Industries of Central Texas.

Foundation Communities, a local nonprofit provider of affordable housing and support services, hopes to receive $10 million in federal tax credits to build the $15 million Skyview Studios at 2800 S. Lamar Blvd.

The project would be built on a site that houses a Goodwill retail store that is among Austin’s oldest and most popular. On the ground floor of its four-story building, Foundation Communities would build a new 14,000-square-foot Goodwill store that would include more parking — a total of 60 spaces — than the current location has. There would also be 30 spaces for apartment residents, most of whom are expected to not own cars.

The units, each about 400 square feet, would have projected rents of $400 to $650 a month, with all utilities included, said Walter Moreau, executive director of Foundation Communities. That would put them within reach of individuals making less than $26,000 a year, he said. Renters could include everyone from Goodwill employees to service industry workers to people on fixed incomes or disability income, he said.

If all goes as planned, construction could start by the second quarter of 2014, with the project completed in a year.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...nned-fo/nWcCM/