Spring Branch Apartments Preserves Affordable Housing in Huntsville, Ala.
Article from Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits, "Spring Branch Apartments Preserves Affordable Housing in Huntsville, Ala." by Mark O'Meara, Staff Writer, Novogradac & Company LLP (March 2014)
Neighborhood Concepts Inc. has owned Burgundy Square Apartments since 1990 when it used low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to redevelop the affordable housing property that once housed African-American soldiers who worked at a local army base during World War II. Now, more than 20 years later, the developer decided to once again use the LIHTC program to transform Burgundy Square Apartments into Spring Branch Apartments, thereby continuing to serve low-income residents of Huntsville, Ala. “The building was starting to show its age,” said Mary Ellen Judah, executive director of Neighborhood Concepts, a Huntsville-based nonprofit affordable housing developer. Judah said that Neighborhood Concepts bought out its original investor prior to the transformation into Spring Branch. “We are a nonprofit organization and it’s in our mission to provide affordable housing. It is important that we serve low-income residents seeking housing.”
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The acquisition and rehabilitation of Spring Branch Apartments transformed the 90-unit, 12-building apartment complex into a 70-unit, 11-building development reserved for residents earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. In order to better meet the demands of the marketplace, Neighborhood Concepts converted a number of the two-bedroom units into three- and four-bedroom units.
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“Many developers are turning to rehabilitation to preserve and improve Alabama’s aging housing stock. Though not a process to be taken lightly, successful rehabs can improve the quality of housing as well as the quality of life for residents,” said Robert Strickland, executive director of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, which provided the $5.65 million LIHTC allocation. “Spring Branch, formerly Burgundy Square, is an excellent example of how [LIHTCs] can be used to rejuvenate older housing stock. By repositioning this aging property, the developer was able to ensure its continued availability as affordable housing through revitalization and modernization.”
