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Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a Material Amendment to the Housing Tax Credit Application and a request for an extension of the previously approved deadline to Place in Service for New Faith Senior Village Apartments (HTC #24076).
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, New Faith Senior Village Apartments (the Development) received an award of 9% Housing Tax Credits (HTCs) for the new construction of 128 units, of which 98 are designated as low-income units, for the elderly population in Houston, Harris County;
WHEREAS, New Faith Senior Village, LP (the Applicant) requests approval for a material amendment to the Application for a decrease to the number of units from 128 to 105, which consists of a decrease of seven market units, and for changes to the architectural design, which also include a reduction of 22,071 square feet (21.61%) to the Net Rentable Area (NRA), going from 102,117 square feet to 80,046 square feet, and a 8,103 square foot (25.80%) reduction to Common Area, going from 31,402 square feet to 23,999 square feet;
WHEREAS, the proposed reduction to the number of units decreases the residential density by 17.97%, going from 21.761 units per acre to 17.851 per acre;
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 3% 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;
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;
WHEREAS, the Board previously approved a request for force majeure treatment in 2025, that extended the deadline to be placed in service by six months to June 30, 2027, which is earlier than the allowable federal deadline of December 31, 2027;
WHEREAS, the Development Owner executed a Carryover Allocation Agreement that included certifications stating each building receiving an allocation would be placed in service by June 30, 2027; and
WHEREAS, the Development Owner is currently requesting that the Board amend its previous approval to allow for an additional six months to the allowable federal deadline of December 31, 2027;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the requested amendment for the Development 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; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the request to further extend the placed-in-service deadline is approved with a new deadline to place in service of December 31, 2027.
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BACKGROUND
The Development received a 9% HTC award in 2024 and a Force Majeure reallocation of tax credits in 2025 to construct 128 units, of which 98 are designated as low-income units, for the elderly population in Houston, Harris County. In a letter dated March 16, 2026, Donna Rickenbacker, representative for the Applicant, requested approval for changes to the site plan and architectural design, which among other changes will result in a decrease to the total number of units from 128 to 105 by decreasing the number of market rate units by 23.
In preparation for closing following the TDHCA Board meeting held on July 24, 2025, the title company notified the Applicant that a Lis Pendens Notice had been filed in the real property records against the Development site. The notice reflected the initiation of an eminent domain proceeding by the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). On September 2, 2025, HCFCD filed an Original Petition in Condemnation seeking a judgment in eminent domain to acquire an interest in 3.554 acres of the 5.882-acre Development site.
Following discussions with the City of Houston (COH) and HCFCD, the Applicant agreed to expand the width and depth of the Development’s detention basin to help address HCFCD’s detention needs that could not otherwise be accommodated on land owned by HCFCD located south of and adjacent to the Development site.
As a result of this agreement, HCFCD did not proceed with the eminent domain action and rescinded the recorded Lis Pendens Notice on December 9, 2025. The total acreage of the Development site did not change and remains 5.882 acres.
In order to accommodate the expanded detention basis, the Applicant is now proposing 105 units instead of the 128 units originally proposed. At Application, 30 of the 128 units were market rate, and with this amendment, the number of market rate units will decrease by 23. This amendment proposes no change to the total number of low-income units from Application; there will be 98 low-income units and seven market rate units. The income and rent restrictions for the low-income units will not change from what was originally approved. The decrease in the number of units results in an 17.97% decrease in the residential density, going from 21.761 units per acre to 17.851 units per acre.
As a result of this amendment, the revised unit mix will consist of 72 one-bedroom units and 33 two-bedroom units instead of the originally proposed 86 one-bedroom units and 42 two-bedroom units. This change in the number of units and sizes of the units will also result in a decrease in net rentable area from 102,117 square feet at Application to 80,046 square feet, which is a decrease of 21.61% or 22,071 square feet. Common Area will decrease from 31,402 square feet at Application to 23,299 square feet, which is a decrease of 25.80% or 8,103 square feet. Parking will be reduced from 138 spaces to 112 spaces.
The Development was re-underwritten with the proposed amendment 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.
PLACEMENT-IN-SERVICE EXTENSION BACKGROUND
The events described above have jeopardized the Development’s placed-in-service timeline. The Development was approved for force majeure treatment in July 2025; however, it was assigned a placed-in-service deadline that is earlier than the maximum allowable under federal guidelines. As a result, the current placed-in-service deadline is June 30, 2027.
The Applicant now projects a revised construction start date of April 15, 2026, with an 18-month construction period and a projected completion date of October 10, 2027. This completion date exceeds the six-month placed-in-service extension previously granted by the TDHCA Board.
Accordingly, the Applicant has requested an additional six-month extension, through December 31, 2027, to accommodate the delay and ensure timely completion. As stated in the request, approval of this extension will allow the Development to proceed with financial closing and complete construction in accordance with the revised timeline.
IMPACT OF BOARD DECISION
If the Board approves the extension request:
• The 2024 Qualified Allocation Plan, Uniform Multifamily Rules, and the 2025 Program Calendar will be applicable to the Development.
• The new placed-in-service deadline will be December 31, 2027.
If the Board denies the request:
• The current placed-in-service deadline of June 30, 2027, remains in place.
• The Development Owner may either meet the existing deadline, return the credits, or have the award terminated for failing to meet the deadline.
• Returned credits will first be reallocated within the original subregion in accordance with 10 TAC §11.6(2). If no pending applications are eligible within the subregion, the credits will be added to the statewide collapse for reallocation.
This request has no impact on any funding source other than the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the request to extend the previously approved deadline to Place in Service for New Faith Senior Village