When Odessa City Councilman Mark Matta took office a year ago, he was determined to bring more affordable housing to District 1, on the city’s southside.
He’s getting closer.
“I’ve spoken to people, the citizens, out in that area. They want housing. It’s something we can do to improve the current housing that they have out there right now,” Matta said. “What my goal is to bring in affordable-to-workforce housing. We’re going to include police officers, firefighters, nurses, school teachers. We’re going to bring a younger, professional crowd to that area. We’re going to raise the sense of pride in that area where the houses in that area say ‘Hey, they’re doing stuff in this area, I want to start improving my area, I want to start improving where I’m living.” A lot of those people have told me ‘We’d love to have new housing. We’d love to be able to afford something, but we just can’t.’ They’re just priced out.”
That issue may be resolved soon, however.
Matta said he has found a developer willing to build affordable homes on the southside despite its more modest income level.
Rhodes USA, which recently received permission from the city to either lease an existing facility for a prefab framing factory or build a new one, has agreed to build 53 new homes on 7.65 acres of city-owned land at East Pool Road and Rochester Avenue.
Rhodes has agreed to cut its contingency fees and general contractors’ fees and the company will forego its developer general contractor upcharge completely, Mattas said.
“They’re not going to take a hit on it. They’re going to make just enough profit on it to pay their employees to build the houses,” Matta said.
Rhodes was looking for a way to “get a foot in the door” and this project will help with that, Matta said, explaining the company hopes to build homes all over the Permian Basin.
“They’re doing whatever they can to help with this. Scott Turner with Rhodes USA has a heart for this,” Matta said. “They know they’ll get back the return in other areas.”
Equally exciting, Matta said is Odessa Finance Housing Corporation has also agreed to be a part of the project. OFHC, which is already providing financing for 30 affordable homes on nearby Fitch Avenue, wants to help prospective buyers get into the homes on Rochester.
“They’re the pros at this, they’re the experts on affordable housing and workforce housing. They’re the ones who know how to get it done. They’ve done it in the past. They’re helping people get into these homes that we’re building by offering down payment assistance,” to roughly 20% of the potential homeowners, Matta said.
Well, technically, OFHC might be helping people get into the new homes.
Matta said both Rhodes Construction and OFHC are waiting for final approval from the Odessa Development Corporation and the city council to move forward. The city council must agree to transfer the land to OHFC and Rhodes has asked for a $1.5 million infrastructure grant. OFHC has also asked for funding that will enable it to give new homeowners $20,000 in closing costs.
Already, Rhodes Construction has provided members of the council and ODC designs and concept drawings of the homes, Matta said.
The homes will be located on approximately 4,000 square feet plots with xeriscape landscaping and 15-foot front setbacks. The homes will come in three sizes, 1,177 square feet, 1,343 square feet and 1,537 square feet.
Although the original plan was to build 55 homes, Matta said he has asked for two lots to be reserved for a small park, the maintenance of which would be paid for with a nominal HOA fee of roughly $75 a year.
There are already people expressing interest in the project, Matta said. Those who qualify for the assistance must simply promise a couple of things, he said.
They have to promise to stay in the home for at least five years and they can’t rent the property for either five or 10 years, Matta said.
Once all of the project gets the green light, Matta, who grew up on the south side and whose grandfather still lives there, will be working to bring another grocery store and more shopping centers to the area.
He reached out to United, HEB and Walmart last year and representatives from United actually visited, Matta said. At that time, the southside didn’t have the demographics United was looking for, but he’s hoping the Rochester project could change their minds.
“I’m diverting my attention back to the grocery store. I want another grocery store. They deserve one,” Matta said.
