Austin housing staff outlines fixes to paused ADCAP program, delays CIS solicitations
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Summary
Austin Housing officials told the Community Development Commission the ADCAP anti-displacement acquisition program was paused for revisions after limited uptake; staff outlined proposals to speed land acquisition for small nonprofits and said CIS solicitations were canceled for evaluation with new funding expected in FY27.
Nefertiti Jackman, Austin Housing’s displacement-prevention officer, told the Austin Community Development Commission on March 10 that the Anti-Displacement Community Acquisition Program (ADCAP) was paused in October 2024 for programmatic fixes after only two organizations tapped available funds.
Jackman said ADCAP was created in 2021 with roughly $8 million to help nonprofit affordable-housing developers acquire and preserve property in displacement-risk census tracts near planned Project Connect stations. Staff found several barriers: lack of awareness among small organizations, timeline pressures from the city’s reimbursement model (nonprofits must front acquisition costs and then seek reimbursement), and administrative approval thresholds that slow reimbursements.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the program’s goals—a geographic, rapid-response tool for preventing displacement—require quicker access to capital than the current structure permits. Jackman proposed options to address timeliness, including raising administrative approval thresholds at the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, exploring a pre-approval process or a line of credit for eligible nonprofits, and transferring program management to the Displacement Prevention division to centralize expertise and outreach.
Program status and finances: Jackman reported $3.6 million has been awarded to date and roughly $4.4 million remains. She said staff will incorporate prior recommendations, consult community development corporations and a recent cohort trained by Business and Community Lenders of Texas, and return to the commission with updates every other month until the program reopens. Jackman said her internal goal is to reopen ADCAP within about three months but warned that council-level approvals (for procurement or spending-threshold changes) could delay that timeline.
CIS update: Jackman also described Community Initiated Solutions (CIS), a Project Connect–funded solicitation for community-based displacement interventions. Austin Housing canceled the recent NOFA and will evaluate 13 existing CIS contracts and their returns on investment before issuing future solicitations. She said staff canceled the NOFA after internal review and community-advisory deliberations revealed the need to refine scopes and avoid duplicating existing work.
Commissioner concerns and next steps: Commissioners asked whether ADCAP eligibility could be broadened beyond 501(c)(3) nonprofits to include small developers that preserve affordability, how the city will market the program to under-resourced organizations, and what technical-assistance partnerships might look like. Jackman said staff is exploring partnerships with organizations that have successfully applied before and will propose technical assistance and marketing plans. For CIS, she said no new solicitations will be issued in FY26 and staff expects to propose Project Connect allocations for FY27 after completing the evaluation.
The commission did not take an additional vote on ADCAP or CIS at the meeting; staff committed to follow-up briefings and community engagement before re-opening funds.