Developer seeks county 'no objection' for Linden Ranch workforce housing; court declines to approve

Paravel Capital and Alamo Area Housing Finance Corporation representatives presented a proposed mixed-income workforce housing project called Linden Ranch on Loop 337 in New Braunfels and asked the commissioners for a resolution stating the court had no objection to the project moving forward.

Garrison Welch of Paravel Capital described the development and said the project would offer about 160 rent-restricted units earmarked for eligible residents and NBISD employees. Summer Greathouse, counsel for the Alamo Area Housing Finance Corporation (HFC), explained the structure: the HFC would own the project and the developer would receive a property-tax exemption for the period the HFC owns the property. Greathouse emphasized the project is not a low-income housing tax-credit development and said roughly 50% of the units would be market rate and 50% would be rent-restricted for households at or below 80% of area median income; she also said the sponsors had discussed a voluntary $25,000 annual payment to the school district and a structuring fee paid to the HFC at closing.

Commissioners pressed on the mechanics and long-term consequences of a structure that puts project ownership with the HFC, including how long property would remain tax-exempt. Greathouse said statutorily the housing finance corporation's property is tax-exempt while it owns that property and that typical lease terms in similar deals are long (presenters referenced 75-year leases in practice for comparable arrangements). Commissioners discussed whether the court should condition the resolution to require reinvestment of HFC revenues into Comal County programs; Greathouse said representatives from sponsor jurisdictions sit on the HFC board and that the court could seek such conditions.

A motion to adopt a resolution of no objection was made but failed for lack of a second; the item received no formal approval from the court on Aug. 22.