City of College Station Blog

By David Brower, Community Development Analyst

The City of College Station recently used federal grant funds to purchase the home at 2700 Wilderness in the Raintree subdivision. After renovations bring systems up to code and make it more energy efficient, the house will be conveyed to a proven nonprofit partner through a request for proposal process as a rental or homeownership opportunity for a qualifying family.

Since 2014, the City of College Station has used Community Development Block Grant funds to partner with nonprofit organizations to purchase and improve homes for income-qualified families. The grants provide funding outside general property tax revenue to help cities address pressing issues, such as much-needed workforce housing options.

Like most U.S. cities, College Station’s home prices and rents have risen substantially, and we have a significant shortage of low- and moderately-priced housing. Housing costs have risen faster than incomes, resulting in a financial strain for renters and a lack of homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers.

Additional factors indicating strong affordable housing demand:

• Most College Station workers live outside the city limits.
• Most units in College Station are single-family homes or multifamily apartments. We lack middle housing options such as duplexes, condos, and townhomes.
• Population and development trends project a significant housing supply shortage by 2030.
• About 58% of renters and 18% of College Station homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. About 35% of the same renters and 9% of the same owners are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50% of their monthly income on housing.
• The 2023 median sales price for a non-new construction home in College Station was $389,000, out of reach for most middle-income families.

On Sept. 26, the College Station City Council adopted the Housing Action Plan to amend the Comprehensive Plan. It resulted from extensive research, public input, stakeholder engagement, and the diligent work of the 13-member citizen Housing Action Plan Steering Committee. The plan establishes tools the city can use to support the impactful implementation of the Comprehensive Plan’s housing goals to create more affordable housing of various types.

The Housing Action Plan’s overarching goals are to create and incentivize more housing units and diverse housing types and incentivize the production and preservation of affordable housing for community members.

The acquisition and rehabilitation of 2700 Wilderness helps implement these specific actions outlined in the Comprehensive Plan:

• Action 3.4 – Expand affordable housing and workforce housing. Continue to support efforts, programs, and incentives aimed at developing affordable housing stock and assisting low- and moderate-income citizens to secure affordable homeownership or rental opportunities.
• Action 3.9 – Continue partnering with local nonprofit organizations and area partners to support affordable housing options. Continue partnerships with organizations such as the Brazos County Home Repair Coalition, Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity, Brazos Valley Community Action Programs, Elder Aid, Brazos Valley Council of Governments, and housing tax credit developers.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at dbrower@cstx.gov.

About the Blogger

David Brower has been a community development analyst for the City of College Station since he graduated from Texas A&M in 2008.

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