The developer of Spring Villas in Austin, Texas, worked with the Travis County Housing Finance Corp. to set aside 16 of its 304 apartment units for renters at 30% of the area median income to help people transition from shelters or homeless situations to an apartment complex.
The other 288 units are being offered to Austin-area renters who are at 60% of AMI, making Spring Villas an affordable housing development throughout.
The project has been selected as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year for Austin, as judged by a local team of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Spring Villas is located in Southeast Austin and was built into a topographic hillside — adding a grading challenge to the construction site even before the developer negotiated favorable terms for the building’s future low-income tenants.
The development also faced inspection issues, a lengthy entitlement process and general delays for about one year. AMTEX, the developer, also faced rising construction costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues.
AMTEX was able to complete the project, however, with the Spring Villas development partnering with Better Texans Services to provide tenants with after-school and recreational activities, arts and crafts events, adult classes and family-themed socials.
Spring Villas also features 16 units set aside as handicapped-accessible units and another eight apartments for hearing and visually-impaired individuals.
About the Project: Percy Vaz, CEO of developer AMTEX, and the rest of the team began marketing efforts and maintaining an interest list three months prior to the first anticipated certificate of occupancy. The building cost about $74 million to develop, with no specific incentives identified. Construction began in January 2021 and continued through December 2023. There was a five-month delay to the start of construction due to permitting issues and an extended entitlement process.
What the Judges Said: “The 16 units being offered as affordable housing is impactful. The fact that this developer was able to build this amazing project during COVID and still able to include the affordable units is commendable. The amenity package on the development is fantastic as well,” said Rachel Coulter, managing director of Stream Realty Partners.
They Made It Happen: The AMTEX team was led by CEO Percy Vaz, President Arjun Nagarkatti, Senior Vice President of Accounting Administration and Human Resources Lux Vaz, Senior Vice President Darin Hansen, Senior Project Manager Lisa Davis and Vice President of Construction Tom Watchorn.
Others working on the project were HEDK Architects Partner Jaron Daily, Partner, Mayfair Management Group President Susanne Kleins, CREA Vice President Matt Holmes and Boston Capital Corp.'s Ellen McDonald.