AISD Public Facility Corporation approves Anita Coy Apartments East transaction; developer plans demolition, remediation already underway

The Austin Independent School District Public Facility Corporation (PFC) unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the Anita Coy Apartments East transaction at a voting meeting on Oct. 7, 2025, clearing the way for financial closing and the next phases of work, the developer said.

The vote on agenda item 2.3 passed unanimously following presentations from PFC legal counsel Summer Greathouse and Nick Walsh of the NRP Group. Secretary Boswell moved to approve the resolution; a director seconded the motion. The board also approved two sets of prior meeting minutes earlier in the session.

Why it matters: the approved transaction formalizes the public–private partnership terms for redeveloping the former Anita Coy school site into multifamily housing. PFC counsel and the developer described negotiated community benefits (nonprofit space, public parks, tree preservation), affordability commitments tied to AMI levels and rent caps, long-term maintenance obligations enforceable by the PFC, and a set of financial returns to the corporation.

PFC overview and negotiated terms

Summer Greathouse, the PFC’s legal counsel, told directors the Public Facility Corporation is a nonprofit separate legal entity created to act on behalf of the school district for financing, constructing and developing public facilities. "This is not the school district. This is a separate entity," Greathouse said, stressing the separation of liabilities and the PFC’s role in public–private partnerships.

Greathouse summarized the negotiated economic returns to the PFC for the East phase: a $250,000 closing fee; 10% of the sales-tax savings realized by using the PFC as general contractor (stated as a payment of about $25,000 per year in current terms); 15% of the property taxes that would have been paid if the project were not tax-exempt; 15% of net refinancing proceeds upon refinancing; and 1% of the gross sales price on any future sale. She also said the PFC has a right of first offer on any sale and that the PFC will have enforceable maintenance obligations and the ability to replace the property manager if standards are not met.

Project scope, schedule and site work

Nick Walsh of the NRP Group described the development team, permitting history and schedule. He said the overall redevelopment is being delivered in two phases (East and West) and that the final official number is 675 units across both phases. "Tonight is for Anita Coy East," Walsh said. He told the board the East phase is essentially "shovel ready," with a planned financial closing targeted for Nov. 20, 2025, and estimated site mobilization and full construction activity to begin within roughly 30 days of closing.

Walsh said environmental remediation began in mid-2025 and has been underway for about 90 days; once remediation closeout is accepted the developer expects demolition to start immediately. He described the site as challenging, citing Atlas 14 floodplain considerations and heritage-tree preservation work required during design and permitting.

Affordability, unit mix and tenant protections

The PFC and developer said the project will prioritize family-sized units: no studios, an emphasis on two- and three-bedroom units, and a roughly 45% share of larger-family units in the East design. Greathouse and Walsh said the deal guarantees 40 years of affordability on the income-restricted units, matching the term typically required of low-income housing tax credit projects.

Greathouse described the statutory affordability structure the board used: 10% of units restricted at 60% of area median income (AMI) and 40% at 80% of AMI (the parties said those percentages reflect the statutory minimum for these PFC partnerships). She said the project will be both income-restricted and rent-restricted; the PFC counsel provided example figures from the HUD-published AMI used for eligibility and rent caps (for example, a family-of-four 60% AMI income figure and corresponding capped rents were discussed during the meeting).

Both counsel and the developer said the project is legally required to accept Housing Choice Vouchers and that a 2023 state law change imposes tenant protections and limits on evictions and nonrenewals in similar PFC projects. Greathouse said Texas law also requires use of HUD-published AMI numbers for these partnerships and that the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will maintain compliance monitoring files for the project.

Community benefits and other negotiated commitments

Speakers described a set of committed community benefits tied to the development agreement: a public pocket park (including a preserved pecan grove with paths and public art), tree preservation, a parking structure, a roughly 5,000-square-foot nonprofit community space intended for Todos Juntos to occupy rent-free (common charges/utilities would be the nonprofit’s responsibility), advanced marketing targeted to AISD teachers and staff, and a contractual minority- and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) participation goal that the developer said will require about 20% of subcontractor spend to go to MWBE firms.

Financial partners and capital structure

Walsh identified Clarion Partners as an investor limited partner (investing through an Opportunity Zone fund for the census tract) and Goldman Sachs’ urban investment group as the construction lender. He described the overall East-phase private capital investment as approaching a nine-figure scale and said those capital commitments were necessary to make the project feasible in the current market.

Community engagement and construction impact

Directors asked about neighborhood outreach and impacts during demolition and construction. Walsh said the team has an existing interest list, site signage and a project phone line, and that they have done door-to-door canvassing of nearby residents and businesses; he said the team will increase outreach and notification (road closures, nighttime concrete pours, and other disruptions) as construction mobilizes. Several directors urged continued proactive outreach to nearby residents and business owners.

Executive session and final vote

The board took a brief executive session citing multiple subsections of the Texas Government Code, chapter 551, for consultation with legal counsel. Following the closed session, the board returned to open session and unanimously approved the resolution authorizing the Anita Coy Apartments East transaction (motion moved by Secretary Boswell; the motion passed by a unanimous vote recorded as four in favor). The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.

Ending

The developer said it expects to return to the PFC with the West-phase materials in several months. PFC counsel and the developer told directors they will continue to refine community outreach and implementation details during the final pre-closing weeks.