{"id":235355,"date":"2026-04-04T22:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T22:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/235355\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T22:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T22:12:30","slug":"city-of-austin-breaks-ground-on-urban-empowerment-zone-uez-i-a-new-permanent-supportive-housing-community-in-east-austin-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/235355\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Austin Breaks Ground on Urban Empowerment Zone (UEZ) I, a new Permanent Supportive Housing Community in East Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re experiencing homelessness in the Austin\/Travis County area, a Coordinated Assessment (CA) is a good first step on the path back to a place to live. The CA is a housing needs evaluation where anyone experiencing homelessness in Austin\/Travis County can apply for the majority of our community\u2019s housing programs. For an up-to-date list of agencies that offer CAs, visit austinecho.org\/gethelp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AUSTIN, TX \u2013 Austin Housing and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) are thrilled to announce the groundbreaking celebration for Urban Empowerment Zone 1 (UEZ I). The new community will provide 80 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units to serve individuals and families at risk of or exiting homelessness. Located at 6400 FM 969 Road in District 1, the development will consist of a four-story, elevator-served building that includes a community room, warming kitchen, community pantry, laundry facilities, computer center, supportive service areas, and a central courtyard designed to promote safety and community connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBy combining affordable housing with supportive services at UEZ I, we\u2019re creating more than a place to call home,\u201d explains Deletta Dean, Director of Austin Housing. \u201cWe\u2019re creating opportunities for residents to rebuild their futures as part of our Austin community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

All units will be Continuum of Care (CoC) units, providing coordinated health care and supportive services for residents. Capital A Housing is developing the site as a turn-key building.\u00a0 Austin Area Urban League will be both the 100% owner\/operator and the supportive services provider. Support services on the site are designed to help residents obtain gainful employment and move on to private housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis development is a key part of the community\u2019s coordinated push to address homelessness,\u201d says Conor Kenny, Principal, Capital A Housing. \u201cThe development will provide homes for 80 families \u2013 many moving out of shelters to start rebuilding their lives and break the downward spiral of homelessness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ensuring affordability\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"3_s5_bird-3-cropped_1\"<\/p>\n

Caption: Rendering of UEZ I, courtesy of Capital A Housing.<\/p>\n

The development will utilize 80 Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs) administered through the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), representing a total value of approximately $29.7 million over a 20-year period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional funding sources include: $4 million from 2018 General Obligation (GO) Bonds, $3 million from 2022 GO Bonds and $1 million from HOME American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) program funds through the AHFC RHDA Program.\u00a0 It also received $11.5 million from Travis County ARPA SLFRF (American Rescue Plan Act, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds); $1.75 million in funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas; and owner equity of $448,999.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City\u2019s funding for this project has been crucial to fill the last gap between what we could raise from other sources and the cost of construction,\u201d Kenny says. \u201cIt enabled the Urban League to avoid taking out expensive debt that would be a permanent drain on the non-profit project\u2019s finances and require constant infusions of operating funds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The total estimated development cost is approximately $19.9 million, and the property will maintain affordability for 42 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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About Austin Housing\u00a0<\/p>\n

Austin Housing creates and preserves housing opportunities to stabilize communities. To access affordable housing and community resources that help you, visit www.austintexas.gov\/housing<\/a>.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

About the Austin Housing Finance Corporation \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC)<\/a> was created as a public, non-profit corporation and instrumentality of the City of Austin. The mission of the AHFC is to generate and implement strategic housing solutions for the benefit of low- and moderate-income residents of the City of Austin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

About Capital A Housing\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Capital A Housing is an Austin-based and focused development company of affordable and mixed-income projects. It specializes in projects that range from a quarter acre to 50 acres and are responsive to neighborhood, city and elected official concerns, delivering outstanding amenities, affordability and services. Through its methodology, Capital A Housing accomplishes rezonings or other permissions that would typically be infeasible for more standard developments. For more information, please visit capitalahousing.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

About Austin Area Urban League\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Austin Area Urban League<\/a> is one of more than 90 affiliates of the National Urban League providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of thousands in the Central Texas region. Its mission is to provide tools and services to African Americans and under-served populations to build a foundation for social and economic equity and equality.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re experiencing homelessness in the Austin\/Travis County area, a Coordinated Assessment (CA) is a good first step…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-235355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235355","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=235355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}