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Eagle Pass may have not been spared when it came to the housing crash; local construction has recently slowed to a crawl, home foreclosures are on the rise and it is getting harder for lenders to lend. The bad news however; seems to be waning as recent construction trends show an upward climb, at least according to some planning officials.
According to interim City Planner, Daniel Tijerina, there are several companies looking at the growth potential and scarcity in the housing market and investing in our city. One such company is Roundstone Development, a Dallas, Texas based construction company. Roundstone, which recently conducted a study on the needs for affordable housing in the area, discovered that our community is in need of at least 600 new units to keep up with the pace of growth. Capitalizing on this opportunity, the Dallas company, has begun construction on a new housing project at the corner of Veterans Loop and Second Street. The Second Street project, officially recognized as Legacy Villas, will include 64 single family units in a unique concept that “merges rental lifestyle and affordable subdivision type living” according to Tijerina. Legacy Villas is one of two projects currently underway that will address the affordable housing shortage; Aurrora Meadows, off Pioneer Road will produce 79 similar units for the County.
The units at both locations will be geared toward a specific demographic in our community. “ The tenant’s income can not exceed 80% of the average medium income for Maverick County, the average medium is set by HUD ,it’s about $22,000” said Tijerina. “These are very design intensive, they need to remain affordable for 20 years, after that the developer has the option to sell them as single family homes, they have an incentive to keep them well maintained, its not going to be a substandard project”
Both projects will pump and estimated 14 million dollars into the local economy and provide much needed housing in our area. In addition to the money generated by the projects, Roundstone will utilize new techniques that could potentially save the city millions. The construction company will be paving the streets at the project site with concrete, something that is rarely done in Eagle Pass and could extend the life of the streets by seven years according to the planning department.
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