Developers awarded incentives or tax abatements for housing projects in Fort Worth’s Neighborhood Empowerment Zones are now required to provide affordable housing units in their project.
What happened: The City Council on Tuesday amended the NEZ policy by repealing the section that gave developers the option of making payments to the Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation in lieu of offering units with low rents.
The big picture: Until now, developers had the choice of setting aside 20 percent of the units for affordable housing or annually pay $200 per unit for each of the units in the development. NEZ incentives typically last five years.
Why it matters: More often than not, developers chose to pay the HFC, yet still received a much greater amount in the value of abated taxes. Some critics said the policy allowed developers to “buy out” of the affordable housing component, essentially going against the policy’s goal of providing on-site affordable units.
What about these NEZs: Fort Worth has an NEZ comprised of six areas in the central city. Under Texas state law, NEZs are designed to promote affordable housing, economic development and quality services in underserved areas.
The City requires affordable housing in neighborhood empowerment zones
