LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock apartment complex with a history of crime and neglect will receive more than $20 million in renovations through a federal program designed to improve housing for low-to-moderate income families.
The renovation of the Ella Apartments, near 58th Street and I-27, will be funded through $22 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds from the federal government, a $1.75 million grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, and the use of low-income housing tax credits.
“So, this is unlocking federal dollars, state-level dollars, because of the fact that there’s great professionalism and leadership here to go after those types of opportunities,” Nicholas Bergfeld said.
Bergfeld, a board member of the Lubbock Housing Finance Corporation, says under Shari Flynn’s leadership, the organization has worked for decades to ensure affordable housing availability in Lubbock.
“It’s our goal to work with private developers who have a vision of providing low to moderate income housing in the city of Lubbock. And to make sure that they’re able to take advantage of all the programming available to allow for that to occur,” Bergfeld said.
The Elizabeth Property Group out of Dallas will use the funding to invest tens of thousands of dollars into each unit and commit to renting the majority of units to low-to-moderate income families.
Bergfeld says poor management helped create an unsafe environment for tenants.
“Having a property that’s really run down where there’s broken lights and you can essentially…trash pickup is rare and infrequent…those types of things. It starts to create sort of environments that encourage certain behaviors to localize there,” Bergfeld said.
The Ella Apartments has been the site of numerous incidents over recent years, including a ceiling collapse and violent crimes, including a 2021 murder of a teenager.
The Lubbock Police Department provided this data to show how many times its officers have responded to the Ella Apartments in the last five years.(KCBD)
City Council voted unanimously to approve the revenue bonds this week.
“I think we’d all love to see something happen there,” said Mayor Mark McBrayer during the meeting.
Bergfeld says he’s excited for a new chapter for the Ella Apartments and the tenants who live there.
“Everything is go, go, go. And we’ll be able to move forward in a timely fashion, which is very exciting. And I think, really, when all this is said and done, the people who have been living here are finally going to get the type of housing and amenities that they’ve deserved,” he said.
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