The Silicon Valley Business Journal Takes an Inside Look at The Grad San Jose

The Grad San Jose exterior building view

Our newest student housing community — The Grad San Jose — is only a year away from completion. The Silicon Valley Business Journal decided to take a look and see how it’s shaping up. Here’s what they had to say:

July 26, 2019

By Katie Lauer a Business Journal contributor

A 19-story co-living building in downtown San Jose aimed a providing dorm-style student housing is close to completion nearly three years after a pair of private developers broke ground on the project. The Grad San Jose will boast 1,039 beds in 260 units, just one block west of the San Jose State University campus. With the 1.1-acre project at 300 S. Second St., co-developers Amcal and Swenson Builders aim to cater to students who would benefit from the shared style of living so close to campus.

This article originally appeared in the San Jose Business Journal. Visit that news site to read the entire article.

Long Beach breaks ground on Las Ventanas, a 102-unit affordable housing complex

Photo of group of people with shovels of dirt at Las Ventanas apartments ground breaking ceremony

AMCAL celebrated the groundbreaking of Las Ventanas, a 102-unit affordable housing development in Midtown Long Beach on Thursday, June 6, along with representatives from the City of Long and the Long Beach Community Investment Company.

Las Ventanas will feature a mix of one- two- and three-bedroom units for individuals and families earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income, including 15 units reserved for households experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness. The building will utilize clean technologies, with a third of the project’s energy coming from solar panels. 

“We are extremely pleased to be starting construction on this beautiful, new affordable housing community that will serve Long Beach residents with transit-friendly, high-quality apartment homes,” said Percy Vaz, CEO of AMCAL. “Future residents will have immediate access not only to the Blue Line to transport them into downtown LA, but they also will be able to get a quick coffee or snack in the retail space that’s planned on site. We are proud to be partnering with the City of Long Beach on this well-situated project that is being designed to LEED Gold energy-efficiency standards.”

Residents will have access to 8,167 square feet of outdoor recreation space along with a computer lab and community room on the ground floor. The development also will offer nearly 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail adjacent to the Metro Blue Line PCH station.

This article originally appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram. Read the entire article on that news site.

In the photo that appears with this story is a group of people at a construction site with shovels to celebrate the breaking of ground on a new project. The following people appear in the photo from left to right: John Thomas, Board Chair, The Long Beach Community Investment Company; Alex Pratt, VP of Development, AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc.; Robert Garcia, Mayor, City of Long Beach; Tyler Curley, Chief of Staff, District 1, City of Long Beach; Linda F. Tatum, Director, Long Beach Development Services; Dennis Murata, District Chief, Service Area VIII, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Affordable senior and family apartments coming to Antioch

Artist's rendering of Antioch apartments

Council approves zoning changes for large northeastern complex

Almost 400 affordable senior and family apartments could soon sprout up between two residential neighborhoods in an area of northeastern Antioch that hasn’t seen much development in recent years.

Located southwest of East 18th Street and Holub Lane just west of Highway 160, the proposed AMCAL Family and Senior Apartments will feature 11 three-story buildings on 14.85 acres. Of the 390 affordable units in the gated complex, 214 will be designed for families and 176 for tenants 55 and older. Four will be manager units.

“This family and senior housing project is an important residential project for the city of Antioch for needed housing,” City Manager Ron Bernal told the City Council this week.

Community Development Director Forrest Ebbs said although the city has been talking about possible projects at the site for a long time, the latest proposal came about fairly quickly. It’ll require a zoning change from “planned development” to “high-density residential” and “senior housing overlay district.”

This article originally appeared in the East Bay Times. Visit that news website to read more.

Rental Apartment Units Across Multiple Texas Markets

External view of Campus Apartments

DALLAS, TX – AMTEX announces the completion of more than one thousand rental apartment units in Texas, with more than 2,700 more apartments either currently under construction or to be developed over the next few years. 

Campus Apartments is AMTEX Multi-Housing’s newest affordable apartment community to be completed. Located at 4651 Campus Drive in Fort Worth, Campus Apartments offers 224 units for individuals and families in the low-, moderate- and market-income ranges. AMTEX Construction, LLC, served as the master subcontractor for this newly completed community.

Next to be finished will be AMCAL Equities’ luxury apartment project overlooking beautiful Lake Ray Hubbard that is set to open in November providing 228 new luxury rental apartments. Located 20 miles northeast of Dallas in Rockwall, Texas, The Florence at the Harbor will offer residents sweeping lake views and easy access to local businesses, services and destinations including the award-winning Harbor District, Downtown Rockwall, and the lifestyle attractions in neighboring Dallas, Plano, and Richardson. 

This article originally appeared in Multifamily Biz Magazine. Visit that news site to read more.

AMCAL Ranks #15 on the List of the Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers of 2018

Logo of Top 50 Developers

The AHF 50: Development Surge

By Donna Kimura

This year’s AHF 50 Developers stepped up production despite higher development costs.

With the uncertainty of tax reform in the rearview mirror, affordable housing developers charged forward in 2018.

This year’s group of AHF 50 Developers started construction on 257 developments with 32,069 affordable housing units, easily outpacing last year’s group, which started 231 developments with 22,540 units.

The AHF 50 is led by Eagle, Idaho–based The Pacific Cos., which has consistently been among the top affordable housing developers in the nation. It takes the top spot after breaking ground on 15 projects with 2,501 units in 2018.

The Pacific Cos. was one of many firms to significantly boost its production levels. One likely reason for the higher numbers is that many 2017 deals were slowed by the disruption in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) market caused by the uncertainty of tax reform for most of that year. Those projects got back on track in 2018 once a tax plan was approved and the industry began to adjust to the market changes.

This article originally appeared in Affordable Housing Finance Magazine. Visit that site to read the entire article.

Push For Affordable Housing On MTS Land Showing Results

San Diego trolley photo

Our Villa Encantada project in San Diego was mentioned in this article about transit-oriented developments.

MTS officials recently authorized negotiations with a development team seeking to build affordable housing on an underutilized trolley station parking lot. If approved, the proposal would more than triple the number of middle-income homes approved in San Diego since 2010.

This comes less than six months after MTS updated its real estate policy to encourage more housing near transit stations—an effort that appears to be showing some results.

The plan for the Palm Avenue station parking lot came from National Core, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, and Malick infill, a for-profit firm specializing in transit-oriented development. The team is proposing 150 homes for low-income households and 100 homes for middle-income households, along with retail and commercial space and parking for trolley passengers.

The MTS executive committee voted March 14 to start negotiations with the development team, after a 30-day window in which staff sought competing proposals but received none. The development team declined an interview request while negotiations are ongoing.

Opening near Tarrant County College in Fort Worth: Affordable housing for the workforce

Campus Apartments exterior building view

March 6, 2019 – Fort Worth, TX – Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS) will open Campus Apartments, its newest affordable housing community near the Tarrant County South Campus, in late March.

Developed with Low-Income Tax Credits in a partnership with AMTEX, the 224-unit community features 10 market-rate units and 214 units for households earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income (AMI).   Fifteen of the affordable units will be new homes for families relocating from Butler Place Apartments under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.  The property has already leased all its one- and three-bedroom units due to the high demand for affordable housing as well as the visible, convenient location at 4366 Campus Drive.

“Campus Apartments will help meet our city’s pressing need for housing that is reasonably priced for the workforce,” said Mary-Margaret Lemons, FWHS president.  “We’re especially proud of the property’s modern finishes, amenities and proximity to public transportation, schools and TCC.”

Campus Apartments sits across the street from a Trinity Metro bus stop and within walking distance to the Tarrant County Resource Connection and O.D. Wyatt High School. The community features an elegant clubhouse with business and fitness centers and an activity room; swimming pool, playground and dog park.

“We appreciate our partnership with FWHS to bring these beautiful new apartments to market,” said Arjun Nagarkatti, president of AMTEX Multi-Housing, Inc. “Including the Campus project, we have 739 apartments that we have partnered on and are either completed or in construction in the Fort Worth community. We look forward to developing many more projects like Campus Apartments in the Fort Worth community in the future.”


AMWA Begins Construction on a New Affordable Senior Community in Arlington, Washington

Artist's rendering of Cedar Pointe apartments

AMWA Development, Inc., announced  that it closed financing and will start construction on 255 new affordable apartments for seniors in the Smokey Point community of Arlington, Washington. located at 17309 40th Avenue, Arlington, WA 98223.

Cedar Pointe is a 55+ apartment community being constructed on a 4.05-acre site in a single, four-story elevator building with 175 one-bedroom units and 80 two-bedroom units, including a one-bedroom manager’s unit. Once completed, Cedar Pointe’s 1 and 2 bedroom apartment homes will feature modern appliances including washer and more. All units will be affordable to seniors earning 60% of the Area Median Income.

Interior community spaces will include a leasing office, community room, media room, exercise room, two private dining rooms, and a business center. The development will be located near shopping, recreation, transportation and other services.

“We are pleased to be developing these new high-quality apartments for seniors in the Smokey Point area and to be assisting the City of Arlington in meeting the city’s goals for a diverse and creative mix of new housing,” said Percy Vaz, CEO of AMWA Development, Inc. “It has been a pleasure working with the City of Arlington and we want to thank the Mayor, City Council and staff for all the cooperation and support.  We are also grateful our financing partners, including the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Hudson Housing Capital and Citi Community Capital. This is our first partnership with WSHFC and we look forward to more successful partnerships.”

Construction is being overseen by AMWA Construction, Inc.

The community is set to be completed in August 2020 and will be managed by FPI Management, Inc.

Cedar Pointe is the first real estate development project in Washington for AMWA Development, Inc., an independently owned and operated affiliate of AMCAL, a Southern California-based real estate development organization.

AMWA Development, Inc. 

AMWA Development, Inc., is an independently owned and operated affiliate of AMCAL, a leading group of allied real estate companies. Founded in 1978, AMCAL and its affiliates have developed more than $1.5 billion in multifamily residential properties consisting of more than 6,500 units in California, Texas, Washington, Arizona and Louisiana, including affordable housing, luxury apartment housing and student housing.

Passion for Housing

Photo of Percy Vaz

AMCAL CEO Percy Vaz is featured in the current edition of Affordable Housing Finance Magazine in an article titled “Passion for Housing.”

Brick by brick and town to town, the AMCAL group of companies does the hard work of building affordable and market-rate housing throughout California and Texas.

During its 40 years, the firm has developed more than 80 communities with 7,500 units and an equally impressive reputation for creating quality housing for families, seniors, and, more recently, college students.

Not bad for a company that Percival Vaz and his wife, Lux, began in their garage.

Armed with an entrepreneurial spirit, Vaz, the firm’s founder and CEO, emigrated to California from India in the mid-1960s to study electronics, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles, with the idea of returning to his home country to open an electronics assembly plant.

This article originally appeared in Affordable Housing Finance Magazine. Read more of the article on that website.

Alton Park Nears Completion in Fort Worth

Alton Park apartments leasing center

AMTEX Development’s newest community in Fort Worth, Texas, is nearing completion.

Fort Worth Housing Solutions will celebrate its 80th anniversary this year with the grand opening of its newest multi-family affordable property, Alton Park, in northwest Fort Worth.

Alton Park joins four other mixed-income apartment communities opening this year thanks to the housing authority’s aggressive efforts to expand the supply of affordable housing in Fort Worth.

“We are happy to be working with both the city and a few select developers to deliver high-quality, affordable housing options for the residents of our rapidly growing city,” Mary-Margaret Lemons, the housing authority’s president, said in a news release. “Never in our 80 years of history have public/private partnerships been so critical to fulfilling our mission.

This article originally appeared in Fort Worth Business Press. Visit that news site to read more.