Alta Architects’ Post

Congratulations to our client The NRP Group LLC on the successful award of this important project for Austin ISD teachers, students, families and the East Austin community. We look forward to serving on the team! "The Austin school district expects a development company to begin construction of a 500-unit housing complex for local educators within two years, at the earliest, district administrators said. District officials hope the planned housing complex — on the site of the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility – will help teachers and school staff find affordable housing in Austin and continue working in the district. This housing complex — the first for the Austin district — could also be the first of several as the district seeks unique ways to keep teachers in the city. On Nov. 16, the district’s board of trustees signed a contract with multifamily developer and manager company NRP Group to develop housing at the 19.8-acre site, 4900 Gonzales St. Soon, the company will begin several months of preliminary work and community engagement, said Jeremy Striffler, the school district's director of real estate. The housing units, at least half of which will be affordable, are meant for teachers and other district staff, who will get first pick over any other applicants, he said. Housing prices in Austin are expensive and districts across the state have struggled to attract and retain staff. Rent costs also are still indefinite. The district is requiring NRP Group to price at least half the units at less than 80% of market value. The company’s planning period will determine how affordable they make the units, Striffler said. In Austin, a family of four qualifies as low income under federal guidelines with an income of $93,450 or less. The district has also formed Public Facility Corp., which serves as a vehicle to manage the property and scope out other future opportunities for district-supported housing. While NRP will own and manage the units on the Coy site, the district will own the property and lease the land to the company. The corporation also allows the district to funnel property tax breaks and other construction benefits to the company, which will keep building and ultimately rent costs low, Striffler said. Repurposing of the Coy site will also include constructing a new building for the district’s Alternative Learning Center, which educates students with discipline or social challenges, Striffler said. “That's part of this unique opportunity is to design a facility that is responsive to their needs,” Striffler said. “They've been shoehorned into some facilities in the past.” The district plans to construct the new learning center first and build the housing on the site of the old elementary school. Construction of the housing will begin, at the earliest, summer of 2025, he said.