CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi and Prospera Community Housing held a ribbon-cutting Monday to celebrate the opening of the Village at McArdle apartments.
While the new complex is needed, it doesn't make a sizeable dent in the demand for affordable housing, said Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni, because low-income families need quality housing just like any other family.
"A family of four is making between $40,000-$50,000, so these are hardworking families working, maybe in the service industry," he said. "So having safe, brand-new living accommodations for them is something many cities across the country are working hard at."
Zanoni said the apartments are made for tenants who make 60 percent or less of the area's median income. The city, along with the Regional Transit Authority, provided the land which sits adjacent to the RTA Southside Transit Station across from La Palmera mall.
"This is an $18 million project and the city has invested over a million dollars in our housing and urban development funds to make the bottom line work here," he said.
The 82-unit complex includes amenities such as after-school care for children, and on-site financial counseling to provide help for residents.
Housing and Urban Development Field Office Director Zuleika Morales-Romero said the apartment complex meets only a fraction of the area's housing needs.
"Corpus Christi is projected to need another 1,400 additional affordable housing units within a 10-year framework," she said.
Corpus Christi Housing Authority Director Gary Allsup said the city is seeing more apartment complexes, even if they aren't classified as affordable.
"We do have a lot more apartments across the community," he said. "And in my mind that's kind of a big-city thing. That Corpus is becoming more like a city than the sleepy old Corpus Christi that a lot of us still like to think of."
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