Austin staff: nearly all 2018 housing bond spent; 2022 package actively appropriated with $30 million forward-allocation planned

Jamie May, housing and community development officer, told the Bond Oversight Committee during its meeting that the city has spent nearly all of the 2018 $250 million general obligation (GO) bond for housing and is actively appropriating, encumbering and spending the voter-approved 2022 $350 million package. May said staff will ask City Council on March 6 to forward-allocate $30 million of 2022 bond authority to accelerate projects currently seeking federal low-income housing tax credits.

May said the 2018 bond (Proposition A) had four defined spending buckets: $100 million for land acquisition; $94 million for rental housing development assistance; $28 million for ownership housing assistance; and $28 million for home repairs. “We have appropriated all $250,000,000. We have spent all but about 1,000,000 left, and that is across all 4 buckets,” she said.

The city used the 2018 acquisition funds to buy sites and preserve existing affordable properties, including three hotels converted to permanent supportive housing and the Hyde Park portfolio of seven multifamily properties acquired with Affordable Central Texas. May said the program has produced roughly 1,300 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units and nearly 800 units affordable to households at 30% of median family income without vouchers, plus about 3,000 units affordable at 50% of median family income. She described other outcomes including 52.5 acres of land acquired across multiple council districts and…