On Aug. 23, the Southside TIF Board of Directors met and approved, among other items, a development agreement with Mistletoe Station LLC for $2.6 million.
The money will go toward infrastructure improvements so that the Mistletoe Station Apartments – which includes two buildings, 106-110 units, a parking garage, leasing, business, community and fitness centers, and a pool – may be built.
The project’s anticipated start date is March 31, 2018 with a completion date of March 31, 2020. Of the total units, 25 percent will be one-bedroom, 50 percent will be two-bedroom and 25 percent will be three-bedroom.
TIF administrator Paul Paine said the lot Mistletoe Station Apartments will occupy has been vacant since ’05, and when he took on the position of TIF administrator his predecessor impressed upon him that it would be very difficult to develop that land.
“The reason for the difficulty is there is infrastructure improvements that have to be done to make this [land] developable,” Paine said. “But I’m excited that we have a very difficult parcel with a proposal that meets a housing need in our area.”
The first building is to be three stories tall and located at 1916 Mistletoe Blvd with the ground floor consisting of the leasing and community center and the two above floors housing residential units.
The second building is to be four stories tall and located at 2116 Beckham Place with 108 spaces of resident surface parking on the ground floor and one- two- and three-bedroom residential units on the three above floors.
Mistletoe Station LLC is the legal entity for the project which is being developed by Saigebrook Development LLC. Saigebrook specializes in developing affordable and workforce housing, and this project will be their third community in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The TIF funding requested by the developer would go toward significant infrastructure improvements including storm sewer relocation and replacement, water line removal and replacements, and street improvements including sidewalk connections and traffic calming.
Though there was some contention because a little more than half of the infrastructure improvements funds will go to projects outside the 2.409-acre property, it was determined that the improvements are necessary to facilitate the apartment development.
Additionally, some concerns arose from the fact that on the Project Budget and Eligible TIF Costs sheet the costs for sidewalk repair and traffic calming were left to be determined.
“A lot of times when we have affordable housing projects there’s a lot of give and take on both sides, “ District 8 Councilwoman and TIF Board Member Kelly Allen Gray said. “As you’re looking at the surrounding area, and have neighbors involved, you’re really trying to get to the easiest peace possible, and lot of times traffic is a huge concern… This is not really a deal breaker, this is actually a good thing because this is a great project and it needs to happen.”
In the end, a motion was put forth by Board Member Linda Christie to approve by amending the agreement to say the sidewalks have an estimated cost of $15,000 – as per the expectations of the developer – and the cost of the traffic calming not to exceed $50,000, both within the TIF funding of $2.6 million. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
At the meeting, the board also unanimously approved:
A 2017 budget amendment to add a new employee that would split Near Southside Inc. and TIF-related duties and would add $12,565 to the budget bringing the FY17 total to $376,704.
A budget increase from $50,000 to $100,000 for the 8th Avenue and Hemphill Street Circulation Study, as well as amending the completion date to Dec. 31, 2018.
A TIF funding request for $325,000 for a two-floor mixed use building at 601 S. Main St. to include a restaurant on the main floor as well as other retail and office space. The project is to start Sept. 30, 2017 and be completed no later than Dec. 31, 2018.