Backers of an $8.2 million development that would bring about 50 apartments and a handful of commercial spaces to the corner of Elm Avenue and Douglas C. Brown Street are seeking $1.2 million from Waco’s downtown Tax Increment Financing Zone.
The request will go to the TIF board Thursday, and city staff have recommended $350,000 for the project, less than a third of what the developers are seeking.
Wylie-based Nexsus Development’s Broadway Place on Elm would include apartments with monthly rent ranging from $1,050 for the smallest one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 537-square-foot units; to $2,200 for two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,491-square-foot units, according to the information packet for Thursday’s TIF board meeting. Monthly rent for commercial units would range from $1,500 for 644 square feet to $2,200 for about 1,060 square feet.
According to a summary in the information packet, nine one-bedroom apartments would be designated as affordable units with income limits, but the packet does not provide details about the limits or potential subsidies.
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Five of the two-bedroom apartments would be available for short term rentals, according to the summary. Meeting documents show two buildings, one fronting Elm and Douglas C. Brown, the other fronting Taylor and Douglas C. Brown, with parking between the two.
In February, the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce held a construction job fair calling for contractors and subcontractors interested in working on the project.
The summary for the TIF board says three businesses have committed to leasing commercial space in the complex: a youth program called Jumpstart Our Youth, a salon called Noir and a co-working space.
Waco economic development analyst Jeremy Pesina said the Broadway Place project first came up months ago but slowed down because of the pandemic. He said Nexsus has gone through the plan review process with the city’s planning department and is working with the city’s utilities department.
Pesina said if the TIF board approves the recommendation, it will likely go to the Waco City Council for approval during its Jan. 17 meeting.
Wannika Muhammad, a local business owner, said the project is a part of a “sad tale of gentrification” in East Waco.
“I’m for my community, but I’m not stupid,” she said. “People are not going to come in here with low income people in mind. (This) is the business strategy.”
The city council has final say on all TIF grants. A potion of property taxes collected on businesses in the TIF zone are limited to use within the zone, and the TIF board makes recommendations to the city council.
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Riverfront requests
The city of Waco is requesting $28.2 million in TIF money for various projects along University Parks Drive related to Catalyst Urban Development’s Riverfront development and related to Baylor University’s construction of a new basketball arena. The city previously has entered development agreements with Catalyst and Baylor that include stipulations for TIF funding.
The city is seeking $6.5 million for work on University Parks Drive from Interstate 35 to Washington Avenue, $1.3 million to bury utilities on Clay Avenue and University Parks, $13.5 million for work on the riverwalk from Clay Avenue to Baylor University, $886,000 for traffic signals and street work on Clay Avenue and University Parks, and $6 million for a parking garage at the northeast corner of Clay and University Parks.
Catalyst Urban Development will request $2.4 million for a parking garage at the northwest corner of Clay and University Parks.
Extension for hotels
KB Hotels is seeking a deadline extension in its TIF contract for three hotels it is building along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Bridge Street. The city in 2018 approved a $3.2 million TIF grant and up to $4.8 million in hotel occupancy tax incentives for the project. At the time, officials estimated the project would cost $21.7 million and wrap up in 2022.
KB is seeking an eight-month extension for two hotels, a Cambria Hotel with 132 rooms and an Even Hotel with 128 rooms, and a 12-month extension for a 101-room Holiday Inn Express across Taylor Street from the other two. City staff have recommended the board approve an eight-month extension for all three.
The board will meet at noon Thursday on the third floor of Waco City Hall, 300 Austin Ave.
Rhiannon Saegert
Rhiannon Saegert is a graduate of the University of North Texas who formerly worked at The Ardmoreite in Ardmore, Okla., the Denton Record-Chronicle and Eater magazine.
