Ground broken on new affordable housing development in east Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new affordable housing development is officially in the works in east Austin.

Ground was broken Tuesday on the Seabrook Square affordable housing development on Manor Road (now addressed as 2210 Pershing Drive). When finished, it will include a five-story and a four-story building that will offer a variety of affordable housing options.

All 204 units in the first phase will be affordable for households earning at or below 60% of the Median Family Income (MFI) and will include 10 “live-work-residence-studios” dedicated to east Austin artists, according to the city.

According to the city, Seabrook Square is in the J.J. Seabrook neighborhood and named after Dr. John Jarvis Seabrook, a Black educator, pastor and well-known community leader in Austin. Seabrook worked as the president of Huston-Tillotson College (now known as Huston-Tillotson University) from 1955 to 1965. The city said the Seabrook community was envisioned to be inclusive and harmonize with the current resources and cultural history.

Roger Taylor Jr., the son of the founder of the J.J. Seabrook Neighborhood Association, said his dad would be proud to see what they’ve done. He also said the part of the plaza for the new development would have his dad’s name on it.

Approved by the Austin Housing Finance Corporation board in July 2022, Seabrook Square is financed by a $40M tax-exempt Bond issued by the City of Austin, $3.4M Citibank construction bridge debt, $32.3 million in 4% LIHTC Equity syndicated by Boston Financial, and $13.5M in Austin Housing Finance Corporation subordinate debt financing through Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA).

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