New El Paso Affordable Housing Complex Secures Approval; Construction Set to Begin Soon

Approval has now been secured for the rezoning of a site in West El Paso that will see the construction of an apartment complex with just over 100 residential units.

The project belongs to the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso and will see construction near the intersection of Bluff Trail Lane and S. Mesa Hills Drive.

In a 6 to 2 vote, members of the El Paso City Council have now given their approval to a rezoning designation for a project designed to provide housing for individuals and families earning up to 80% of Area Median Income.

The zoning change is taking the 6.2-acre site from an R-3 Residential to an A-3 Apartment designation.

The property in question was purchased 5 years ago from the utility company El Paso Water by the Housing Authority.

Residents in the surrounding Mesa Hill neighborhood attended several public input meetings on the project, saying that the proposed complex was too large for the area.

But those assertions were to a degree balanced by a report completed in April for the city's Plan Commission saying that the proposal was "in character with the residential and apartment development in the surrounding area."
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The Housing Authority last month received $16 million in the form of housing tax credits awarded by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to spur construction of the project.

By Garry Boulard

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