Most of the members of the new Austin City Council ran on platforms calling for more affordable housing, but now that they’re in office, there’s uncertainty over where that housing should go. (Though an NYU study released today on U.S. rents in 11 cities didn’t cover the Texas city, the report details an overall increase in rent-burdened city-dwellers.)
Mandy De Mayo, executive director of HousingWorks Austin, told KUT Austin that wherever units are built, they need to be near public transportation, jobs and good schools.
KUT Austin notes that in one such desirable location where a developer is proposing affordable housing, residents have balked.
Last week, DeWayne Lofton, who leads the Pecan Springs/Springdale Hill Neighborhood Association, spoke against the development before the Austin City Council.
“Our neighborhood — as a stated goal — promotes homeownership,” Lofton says.
The affordable apartments would be rentals.
“We really don’t support multifamily development. But, if you give us something that we consider to be a community benefit, then we will consider a multifamily development,” he says.
Jenn Stanley is a freelance journalist, essayist and independent producer living in Chicago. She has an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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