lower-cost housing in North Texas.<\/a><\/p>\nThe Park on 14th, which officially opened this week after 13 years of planning and $17 million in state and federal financing, features 62 apartments. More than half are reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area median income. That\u2019s just under $66,000 for singles and just over $75,000 for couples according to HUD data.<\/p>\n
For University of Texas at Dallas student Blake Newman, the project has been life-changing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s helped out a lot honestly,\u201d Newman said. \u201cAll the money I\u2019ve saved on the actual rent I\u2019ve been able to put more back into savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newman, who has a budget of about $2,000 a month, pays around $1,000 for his new one-bedroom unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody deserves an opportunity to live in a nice place,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Plano Mayor John Muns said developments like The Park on 14th are vital to the city\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t have that housing that kind of fits everybody\u2019s level, well, then they\u2019re going to go somewhere else,\u201d Muns said.<\/p>\n
The opening comes as Plano undergoes sweeping redevelopment efforts, including the massive transformation of the former Collin Creek Mall site and The Shops at Willow Bend. Both projects are bringing hundreds of new rental units to the city as leaders try to balance market-rate development with affordable housing options.<\/p>\n
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) acquired the land for The Park on 14th in 2012 with the goal of creating more affordable housing. TSAHC leaders say the grand opening represents progress, but also a reminder of how much more is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt barely scratches the surface for what the community truly needs to address all their housing goals,\u201d said Michael Wilt of TSAHC. \u201cWhich isn\u2019t to say that you can\u2019t find housing in Plano. It\u2019s just if you\u2019re paying more for it, you become cost burdened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Park on 14th offers residents amenities such as a fitness center, business center, media room, community space and outdoor recreation areas. Its location places residents within walking distance of downtown Plano, the city\u2019s historic commercial district, and a nearby DART station.<\/p>\n
Some market-rate apartments remain available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The units at the new complex were snapped up instantly, highlighting urgent demand as redevelopment reshapes the city.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-2150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}