SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT HITS MAJOR SNAG

  

The state has denied federal tax credits for a proposed Brenham housing project for senior citizens, placing the project on hold indefinitely.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will not fund a request by HuntJon LLC for $750,000 in federal housing tax credits for a 76-unit, three-story apartment complex for senior citizens.

According to the weekend edition of the Brenham Banner Press, the Belle Towers project was not funded by the Department in initial scoring.

The department received three applications for federal tax credits in the region which includes Brenham.  Tax credits allocated to the region totaled nearly $600,000, and a project in Salado was chosen to receive $514,000 of that amount.

Some area residents expressed concerns over parking and traffic when the Belle Towers proposal went before the Brenham City Council.

The Brenham City Coundil granted a special use permit for the project to be built on a 2.5-acre tract bordered by North Market, Cottonwood and Liberty streets.

Residents also said the building would dominate an already crowded area.

There is still a slim chance that the Belle Towers project could still be funded if other projects which received federal tax credits don’t come to fruition and the money goes back into the statewide “pool.”