Council directs staff to pursue ground-lease pilot for 64-unit single-family affordable housing project at Mason Creek

The Leander City Council directed staff Aug. 7 to return with paperwork for a pilot program and cooperative agreements enabling a proposed affordable single-family rental community at the Preserve at Mason Creek.

Brian, a representative of Cascade Homes, presented the proposal for a 7.675-acre site south of Horseshoe Drive near Leander Middle School and Christine Camacho Elementary. Cascade said the project would build 64 single-family rental homes with professionally managed on-site services and shared maintenance. The developer described floor plans of about 1,500 to 2,100 square feet, high-quality finishes and an 85% masonry standard for exterior elevations.

Cascade Homes described a financing structure that would use a Travis County Facilities Corporation (TCFC) ground-lease model, described in the presentation as a “PFC deal” governed by Texas Code 303 (as referenced by the presenter). Under the arrangement described by the developer, the project would reserve 20% of units for households at or below 60% of area median income (AMI) and 30% for households at or below 80% AMI; the remaining 50% would be market-rate rentals. The developer said the ground lease would avoid property taxes during an initial period and that the developer would pay the equivalent of full property taxes to the city after 10 years; the affordability and ground-lease restrictions would run for 60 years.

Cascade Homes told the council the project would provide 32 units targeted to low-income households and would be the first income-restricted single-family rental community in Leander. The developer said site development plans had been stamped and approved by city staff and requested the city’s cooperation to complete a TCFC ground-lease and related agreements.

Councilmembers asked detailed questions about rent-setting, how income recertification would be handled if residents’ incomes rose, whether income-restricted units would be dispersed throughout the site, and how long the protections would remain. The developer said income-restricted rents are governed by AMI calculations published annually and that the TCFC structure includes third-party audits and annual reporting. The presenter said there is a limited “grace period” for households whose income rises, after which they could convert to market-rate leases and remain in the community.

After the presentation and questions from council, Mayor Christine Tala moved to direct staff to prepare and return with a resolution, a cooperative agreement, and a pilot program; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

City staff and the developer said the project is intended to provide workforce housing for teachers, first responders and other local workers who face difficulty buying or renting single-family homes in Leander. Additional details — including a final rent schedule, fiscal analysis of the proposed tax-equivalency payments, and the draft legal agreements — will be prepared and returned to council for future consideration.