UPDATE: Dallas City Council last week approved its Public Facility Corporation deal with Mintwood Real Estate to develop Oakhouse at Colorado. “This would’ve probably ended up being a multifamily market-rate project with no affordability,” Mayor Pro Tem Chad West said during the Council meeting.

ORIGINAL STORY: A 215-unit apartment complex planned for a vacant piece of land that nudges up to Interstate 35 could be among the first developed under a subsidy that’s newly available from the City of Dallas.

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One of the city’s first deals as a Public Facility Corporation is at 900 E. Colorado at Jefferson, the area in green below.

Oakhouse at Colorado would have 215 homes, half of which would be priced for people earning no more than 80% of the area median income, which is about $48,000 for a single person. The other half would be leased at the market rate.

This chart shows how they would be priced.

The city’s public facility corporation would own the property, including land and buildings, and lease it back to the developer, Mintwood Real Estate, which would pay no property taxes on the complex for 75 years.

City Council voted in 2020 to create a public facility corporation, allowing the city to become a business partner in developments, which receive a property-tax subsidy in exchange for 50% affordability.

This subsidy is meant to target “the missing middle,” residents who are priced out of Dallas rents but whose income is too high to qualify for housing vouchers.

Oakhouse at Colorado is planned as a high-end apartment complex with energy-efficient appliances, quartz countertops and in-unit washer/dryers, as well as “resort-style swimming pool, sky lounge/view deck terrace, fitness center, dog park, coffee bar, meeting/zoom rooms, common area lounge.”

Because the property needs to command market-rate rents for half of its units, the pressure to offer luxury amenities and a well-maintained property is built in.

The list of luxury amenities, presented to City Council members Monday, caused Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn to question whether the city has its priorities straight regarding affordable housing.

The project is just across I-35 from The Bottom, where property-value hikes could shove residents out, and how this project could affect tax increases for current homeowners ought to be considered, Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold said.

The plan for Oakhouse at Colorado will be presented to City Council next week.

212 Melba, another apartment project currently under construction by Mintwood Real Estate.