Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Council approves $320,000 HOME grant for BVCAP to buy, rehab a Midtown rental; debate over rentals vs down‑payment assistance
Loading...
Summary
Council approved a $320,000 HOME investment to Brazos Valley Community Action Program to acquire and renovate a three‑bedroom home at 1015 Toledo Bend Drive as an affordable rental; council debated whether those HOME dollars should instead be shifted to down‑payment assistance, and approved the grant 6–1.
At the Jan. 8 meeting City staff presented a proposed agreement to use $320,000 in HOME Investment Partnership funds to help Brazos Valley Community Action Program (BVCAP) purchase and rehabilitate a single‑family home at 1015 Toledo Bend Drive for use as an affordable rental unit.
Planning staff David Brower said the RFP for housing partners received one response — from BVCAP — and described the unit as a three‑bedroom, two‑bathroom, roughly 1,700 square‑foot home in the Midtown Reserve neighborhood. Brower said the award would underwrite the $285,000 purchase price plus a customary developer fee to cover administrative and capacity costs. BVCAP currently operates 19 affordable units in the city and is a community housing development organization eligible for property‑tax exemptions; staff said tenants typically work locally or are retired.
During discussion Council Member McElhaney expressed a preference for directing HOME funds to down‑payment assistance to promote ownership, noting that the same dollars could, by her estimate, help multiple families become homeowners. David Brower and other council members responded that the city also operates a down‑payment assistance program (now up to $80,000 per household) and that rental preservation can create stable housing that may allow households to save toward future ownership. Brower said the unit could rent for about $1,100 a month in Midtown, compared with market rents averaging over $2,100 for comparable listings.
After discussion a motion to approve the HOME agreement with BVCAP passed 6–1. Staff noted two written public comments in the packet that raised concerns; those comments were taken into the record but did not change the council's vote.
Why it matters: The allocation adds one affordable rental to the city's stock and supports a local nonprofit housing manager. The debate reflected a recurring council policy choice between expanding rental affordability versus direct assistance to homebuyers.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the agreement with BVCAP and proceed with acquisition and renovation of 1015 Toledo Bend Drive under HOME program rules and the city's underwriting.
