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Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a Material Amendment to the Housing Tax Credit Application for Georgian Oaks (HTC #24145)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, Georgian Oaks (the Development) received an award of 9% Housing Tax Credits (HTCs) for the construction of 95 multifamily units for the elderly in Fort Worth, Tarrant County;
WHEREAS, Georgian Oaks, LLC (the Applicant) requests approval for a material amendment to the Application for an increase to the number of units from 95 to 100, a decrease to the acreage from 0.67 acre to 0.46 acre, which changes the residential density from 141.79 units per acre to 217.39 units per acre, a 53.32% increase in density, and changes to the site plan and architectural design, which also include a reduction of 21,007 square feet (53.17%) to Common Area;
WHEREAS, Board approval is required for a significant modification of the site plan, a modification of the number of units or bedroom mix of units, a reduction of three percent or more in the square footage of the units or common areas, a significant modification of the architectural design of the Development, and for a modification of the residential density of at least 5%, as directed in Tex. Gov’t Code §2306.6712(d)(1), (2), (4), (5), and (6) and 10 TAC §10.405(a)(4)(A), (B), (D), (E), and (F), and the Applicant has complied with the amendment requirements therein;
WHEREAS, Board approval of this amendment does not constitute a waiver of any of the rules or statutes applicable to the 2024 HTC Application, including but not limited to the accessibility requirements stated in Chapter 1, Subchapter B; and
WHEREAS, the requested changes do not negatively affect the Development, impact the viability of the transaction, impact the scoring of the Application, or change the amount of the tax credits awarded;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the requested amendment for Georgian Oaks is approved as presented at this meeting, and the Executive Director and his designees are each hereby authorized, directed, and empowered to take all necessary action to effectuate the foregoing.
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BACKGROUND
Georgian Oaks received a 9% HTC award 2024 to construct 95 affordable units for the elderly in Fort Worth, Tarrant County. In a letter dated January 16, 2025, Alyssa Carpenter, representative for the Applicant, requested approval for changes to the site plan and architectural design, which among other changes, will result in an increase to the total number of units by 5.26%, from 95 to 100.
At Application, the development site was 0.67 acre and consisted of two lots bifurcated by Calhoun Street but connected via a public crosswalk and two residential buildings of six and eight stories. There were separated by Calhoun Street. The historic structure, the Binyon O’Keefe building, was anticipated to have 56 units and a new construction building was anticipated to include 39 apartment units. Subsequent to Application, the developer was able to add an atrium to the historic Binyon O’Keefe building design, which allowed for the historic structure to accommodate 75 units. The Applicant indicated that, with the proposed redesign, the City of Fort Worth (the City) also agreed to relocate the new construction building to the same lot because the new location of the new construction building is considered the back of the Binyon O’Keefe building, and therefore will not impact the historic appearance of the Binyon O’Keefe building. This design was recommended by the Downtown Fort Worth Inc. (DFWI) Design Review Committee and the City of Fort Worth’s Downtown Design Review Board (DDRB). With this new guidance and support, the new acreage of the Development will be 0.46 acre, and the site plan has been revised to contain one connected residential addition that is six stories in height. Parking has been reduced from 16 spaces to seven spaces; however, parking meets the City requirement of zero spaces and accommodates the Department’s accessible parking requirements. The Applicant indicated that this design has been approved by the City’s Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission (HCLC) unanimously, in addition to the support by DFWI and DDRB.
As a result of this amendment, the revised unit mix will consist of 15 zero-bedroom units, 60 one-bedroom units, and 25 two-bedroom units instead of the originally proposed 12 zero-bedroom units, 60 one-bedroom units, and 23 two-bedroom units. This change in the number of units will also result in an increase in net rentable area from 68,024 square feet at Application to 71,162 square feet, which is an increase of 4.61% or 3,138 square feet. Common Area will decrease 21,007 square feet (53.17%), going from 39,509 square feet to 18,499 square feet. The increase in the number of units results in a 53.32% increase in the residential density, which will increase from 141.79 units per acre to 217.39 units per acre.
The Applicant explained that it was unknown at the time of Application that the City of Fort Worth would request and support that the Development be contained to one lot. The reduction of residential buildings from two lots to one and from two separate buildings to two connected residential structures will help to control project costs and the good cause for approval of this request is that it will enable the development to continue towards closing and completion while providing more affordable units.
The Development was re-underwritten with the proposed amendment and revised financial information. The analysis supports no change to the HTC allocation and demonstrates the Development remains feasible.
Staff confirmed that the revised design plans and parking will continue to meet accessibility requirements. Additionally, staff reviewed the original Application and scoring documentation against this amendment request, and has concluded that none of the changes would have resulted in selection or threshold criteria changes that would have affected the selection of the Application in the competitive round.
Staff recommends approval of the amendment request as presented herein.