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April 14, 2009

Rusk council gives apartment project stamp of approval

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

The state of Texas needed proof Rusk officials were interested in having new apartments built in the city, and City Council members gave it loud and clear during a council meeting Thursday.

The Council approved a resolution supporting the construction of Cherokee Hills Apartments after a presentation and question-and-answer session with project head Rick Brown of Hunsicker Appraisal Company Inc. in Dallas. The project is replacing prior plans to build income-restricted apartments on 13 acres near Cherokee and Jarrod streets in Rusk.

“Zimmerman, the company interested in building the other apartments, was unable to sell the tax credits needed to finance that project, and had to pull out,” Mayor Angela Raiborn said Thursday. “Just when things were looking bleak, Mr. Brown called us and we were able to get the ball rolling.”

Brown, who was accompanied by company President Harry Hunsicker, told council members plans to build a 60-unit, two-story, multi-building complex were already in the works, and the complex would boast a mix of income-restricted and market-value rent apartments.

“We’ve built a lot of apartments, between the two of us,” Brown said, while motioning to Hunsicker. “We’ve checked into financing and found out there are funds available through the Texas Department of Housing’s Home Funds program. If we’re going to apply, the deadline’s April 30.

“We’re also planning to go through the FHA (Federal Housing Authority) for a portion, too. What we need from the city now, is this resolution to show the state that yes, in fact, there is interest in having these apartments built here,” Brown said.

Brown said the company is still working on potential rent rates for the apartments. The rents of only 20 of the 60 units will be income-restricted.

“This will be the first mixed complex we’ll have done,” Brown said. “It’s been done to some success by others, we’ve just never tried it before.”

Councilman Walter Session asked about the company’s rent scale compared to other cities.

“I see here you’ve got a three-bed, three-bath going for $1,000,” Session said. “I don’t know too many people could afford that around here — I sure can’t.”

Brown explained the process the company uses to develop rent schedules is very detailed and complex and company officials were still looking at tweaking the proposed rates.

“After meeting with the EDC (Rusk Economic Development Corporation), there were some concerns on rent rates, so we’re still working on that,” Brown said.

Councilman Kris Morgan wanted to know who the company would use to work on the project.

“The architect we use is really, really good and we’ve worked with him several times in the past,” Brown said. “He’s also able to recommend the right people for other aspects of the job and for the most part, we’d take his recommendations.”

Morgan then asked about subcontractors.

“I’d very much like to see as many local contractors used (as possible),” Morgan said. “We have lots of specially trained people here and I would be very much remiss in my duties as councilman if I didn’t support our local people.”

Brown said he understood perfectly and agreed.

“It’s in everyone’s best interests to use as much local talent as possible,” he said. “There will be instances where we’ll need a very specialized type of work done, and won’t be able to find anyone local for that, but that won’t be most cases.

“If they know how to do it, they’ll be first in line for the work,” Brown said.

Morgan also asked how soon construction on the project might start.

“The financing process takes a long time,” Brown answered. “If everything goes perfectly, the FHA typically takes eight or nine months to approve anything. They’ve also been known to draw it out for two years.

“Hopefully, everything will go perfectly. At that point, construction should take 10 to 12 months. The first buildings would be completely ready to rent and we could start filling them up, as we complete the last buildings, so we wouldn’t have to wait until the whole thing is done, before we could start offering them to people.”

City Manager Mike Murray and Raiborn also informed the council they were able to tour other complexes the company had built and manage last week in Georgetown.

“We were very impressed,” Murray said. “Everything looked nice; the people we talked to seemed pleased with the overall atmosphere — I think these apartments will be a huge boon for the city.”

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