Affordable housing could soon come to Abernathy in the form of an apartment complex in the southern part of the city.

The Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court passed a resolution of support “for the City of Abernathy to place a 72-unit apartment complex in our community with assistance from program funding through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).”

Overland Property Group, the company developing the property, must complete a full application to state regulators by the end of February. Once the application is submitted, approval would come 6-7 months later, if passed.

Items looked at during the approval process include zoning, amenities, and radius to various services, according to Brett Johnson, Partner with Overland Property Group.

“It’s our hope that we will win the award for federal tax credits, and then be able to use the proceeds from the sale of those credits to develop the units in Abernathy,” Johnson said.

“The quality of the schools, the growth within the community, proximity to hospitals and whatnot. There are some defining factors that TDHCA has said that these communities that we’re going to award these in have to have, and Abernathy ranks right up in there with them to where it would be a favorable place for the developer to come in,” said Abernathy City Manager Mike Cypert.

Cypert said, “Abernathy has got a lot of growth going on right now. Our housing market has been saturated. We have two power plants, one under construction. We’ve got a lot of temporary workers in here, which has impacted out housing market above and beyond the typical growth that we would normally see.”

Cypert said he expected Overland to attempt to annex the property into the City of Abernathy if the project is approved. The southern 25 percent of the city lies in Lubbock County.

“This would be a family-style apartment. So, we would be looking for residents who are workforce housing, people that probably already live in the community that are looking for a nice, safe place to live,” said Johnson.

“We’re talking in the neighborhood of 6 to 7 million dollars of development activity in Abernathy,” he explained. “It’s a community that is in desperate need of housing, particularly of an affordable nature.”

Cruz Luera lives across the street from the proposed location of the development. He said he was most looking forward to getting his street paved due to increased traffic in the area.

“I think it’s a good idea, really,” Luera said. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“Should not affect and property values, or neighborhood crime. There’s study after study on affordable housing, how that actually that actually improves neighborhoods as opposed to what one might think,” Cypert said.

“They’ll probably be 50 percent occupied, prior to opening. And then the rest of those will fill in really rapidly,” Cypert added. “If you’re a single mother with three kids, working, and struggling to get by, there would be some housing that would be available and affordable for you, and fit your guidelines depending on your income.”

“All communities have to look for every type of housing,” Johnson explained. “You can’t just have high-income homes. You can’t just have apartments. You have to have housing for everyone in order to grow because you’ve got small businesses around there, seniors on fixed income, and you can’t limit their options.”

The project, if approved, would likely break ground in February 2017, according to Cypert, and could be completed between 6-8 months.