1,000 Apartments Coming to Northeast Austin Near Samsung Plant

A joint venture between developers and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin plans to build more than 1,000 apartments in Northeast Austin near Samsung’s Semiconductor factory.

River City Capital Partners and the Austin Affordable Housing Corporation are partnering with development firm LDG Multifamily and investment manager Battery Global Advisors to create Parmer Gateway, a series of multifamily complexes with an emphasis on affordable housing, the Austin Business Journal reported.

River City purchased 69 acres of vacant land adjacent to Samsung’s manufacturing campus, at the intersection of East Yager Lane and East Parmer Lane, in 2020. This corner of Austin has been a hot spot for developers in recent years due to the abundance of undeveloped lots and its surging growth.

“It’s a near-in Austin location that is in high demand,” River City’s Rich Leisy told the outlet. “The proximity to a number of large employers and logistics hubs is just another huge draw for this location.”

The developers also plan to sell two sites on the property for a convenience store and a hotel.

A strong relationship with the joint venture, which is also at the helm of a 518-unit complex on East Riverside, convinced the housing authority to join the Parmer Gateway project, said Suzanne Schwertner, the housing authority’s director of development.

The development is broken down into three phases, with the first two expected to start in May and take two years to complete, the outlet said.

The first will contain 273 apartments, with half of them being affordable to tenants earning less than 80 percent of the $88,250 median family income, while half will be market rate. Floorplans will feature a mix of 178 one-bedroom units between 700-980 square feet, 86 two-bedroom units between 1,070-1,300 square feet and nine three-bedroom units between 1,460-1,700 square feet.

The second phase could have as many as 300 units — 24 one-bedrooms, 168 two-bedrooms, 96 three-bedrooms and 12 four-bedrooms. Amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center, playground, pool and green space.

Parmer Gateway will be part of the housing authority’s voucher program, allowing participants to find their own housing within the authority’s jurisdiction and pay 30 to 40 percent of their monthly income in rent, while the authority pays the rest, the outlet said.

The developers have obtained $58 million in financing through IBC Bank, and the project has an estimated cost of about $86 million.

—Quinn Donoghue