Spring Villas has been named the 2024 Multifamily Development of the Year CoStar Impact Award winner in the Austin, Texas market. Winners—chosen for their growth, diversification, and ability to overcome unique challenges in their markets—were selected from a panel of more than 660 industry professionals drawn from each respective market.
To read the article, click on this link.
AMTEX’s Richcrest Apartments received the CoStar Impact Award 2023 for Development of the Year in Houston. Richcrest Apartments is a new 288-unit affordable rental housing community with a mix of apartments for low-income individuals and families earning between 30% and 60% of the Area Median Income.
AMTEX partnered with the City of Houston and the Harris County Community Services Department to bring this affordable housing community to life. The development was made possible via private investments and the help of federal disaster recovery funding made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey and other recent storms destroyed 3,000 housing units in the Houston area.
We also partnered with YMCA and provided them with space and resources on-site to so they can offer after-school enrichment programming, classes and supportive services to residents.
Richcrest Apartments is serving families and their needs by providing high-quality, affordable housing with modern amenities and on-site services. All apartments offer contemporary living for residents. Amenities include balconies with patios overlooking the shared outdoor space and modernized kitchens and bathrooms to provide the most comfortable living environment for families.
Read more about Richcrest Apartments’ win of the CoStar award here.
The Lee Apartments celebrated its official groundbreaking on March 9, 2023. The project is named in honor of Opal Lee, activist and mother of Juneteenth.
Located in an open lot near Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport, next to a sister property, The Holston, The Lee is planned as a 399-unit apartment complex and is the sixth affordable housing property developed by AMTEX and Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS) in the city of Fort Worth.
Ms. Lee stole the show with her powerful message of personal triumph.
AMTEX President Arjun Nagarkatti also delivered remarks at the ceremony. We’re honored to work alongside Fort Worth Housing Solutions and Interbank to bring this project to life.
Read more about the project’s groundbreaking ceremony at this link.
Affordable housing stakeholders assess the coming year.
Many of the issues that have been vexing affordable housing developers will remain into early 2023, with hopes that financial conditions will gradually improve as the year goes on. Rising interest rates, escalating construction costs, and a slowing economy continue to be the key concerns as a tumultuous 2022 turns into a new year.
Bank of America has provided $228 million in construction lending and equity investment to support AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc. in financing Somis Ranch Farmworker Housing Community, a 360-unit affordable multifamily community for low-income farmworkers and their families in unincorporated Ventura County, California. In addition to building an energy-efficient community and providing impactful resident services at no cost to the residents, AMCAL will build a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility to serve the project in this remote location.
AMCAL’s Founder and CEO was inducted into the Affordable Housing Finance Magazine’s Hall of Fame on November 14, 2022, at a special awards ceremony in Chicago. Vaz is the founder and CEO of the AMCAL group of companies, one of the most active affordable housing developers in the West and South. Read the article at this link.
Affordable Housing Finance Magazine published its top 50 affordable housing developers list in May 2021, and AMCAL came in at #6 in the nation having 1,514 construction starts in 2020, and an anticipated 687 completions.
According to AHF, affordable housing developers were able to continue building, despite all the uncertainties and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. AMCAL was one of them. AHF also reported that while posting impressive numbers, developers faced extraordinary challenges during the pandemic, from delays in construction to increased deal scrutiny, from all-time high lumber prices to rent delinquencies across their portfolios. In addition, they were called on to meet the increasing needs of their residents.
AMCAL is proud to have been building affordable housing for more than 40 years, and is still going strong with an impressive pipeline of projects under construction and under development in 2022.
Our VP of Forward Planning and Entitlements, Darin Hansen, participated in a developer/owner panel addressing the state of affordable housing development in the western U.S. region hosted by Western Real Estate Business. The panel addressed questions surrounding: “What is the outlook for the affordable housing sector in the western states?”
You can access a recording of the panel discussion on the Western Real Estate Business website.
Las Ventanas Features Affordable Family Apartments, Close Proximity to the Blue Line, and is striving for LEED Platinum Certification
AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc., a national leader in the development of affordable housing, is about to complete construction on Las Ventanas Apartments, an affordable mixed-use housing development near the Blue Line stop on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, California, that is striving to be certified as LEED Platinum.
Las Ventanas, located at 1795 Long Beach Blvd., features 102 apartments with 1, 2 and 3-bedrooms affordable to individuals and families earning between 20% to 80% of the area median income (AMI). LA County’s “Homes for Health” program has reserved apartments for 15 special needs homeless households.
Las Ventanas sits on a 1.01–acre site with a four-story building and includes street-level commercial space. The community’s transit-accessible location and infrastructure improvements provide residents access to public transportation, parks, markets, education institutions and retail, which are all located within short distances.
The community is striving for LEED Platinum certification. LEED for Homes is a national, voluntary, rating system administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC is a non-profit that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green buildings and encourages the adoption of sustainable practices. LEED-certified homes are more durable, use less energy and water, and provide improved indoor air quality resulting in reduced utility bills and increased occupant comfort.
For a project to earn LEED for Homes certification, it must meet requirements in eight different environmental qualities: 1) Sustainable sites, 2) Water efficiency, 3) Energy and atmosphere, 4) Materials and resources, 5) Indoor environmental quality, 6) Locations and linkages, 7) Awareness and education, and 8) Innovation in design.
The Las Ventanas community exceeds California’s Energy Efficient Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings which is enhanced by Solar Thermal for Domestic Hot Water, Solar PV and Energy Star lighting and Bathroom fans. Each kitchen is being furnished with a stove-oven and a garbage disposal. To help residents minimize expenses, AMCAL has installed ENERGY STAR® appliances including a refrigerator and a dishwasher. All apartments have a patio or balcony for private outdoor space, storage, and modern amenities for living.
To improve indoor air quality, AMCAL used interior paint with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Apartment interiors include modern vinyl Floor Score® planking and carpeting in bedrooms. AMCAL used the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label low-VOC carpet, pad and adhesive, which help to reduce VOCs and emissions, and contribute to the growing use of recycled content for building materials.
To reduce water usage, xeriscape landscaping with a managed irrigation system was planted, and low-flow water toilets, faucets and showerheads were installed.
For more information on LEED for Homes and USGBC, visit USGBC’s website.
Some of the green features unique to the community are:
“Las Ventanas’ high quality look and design will contribute to improving the neighborhood and provide much needed affordable family housing to the community,” said Percival Vaz, CEO of AMCAL. “We are excited to unveil Las Ventanas with its many environmentally sustainable features and look forward to its positive contribution to the Long Beach community.”
AMCAL is soon set to complete its affordable community in Los Angeles called Florence Apartments located at 1600 E. Florence Avenue. The project recently was noticed by Urbanize LA. You can read the entire article on Urbanize LA’s website.