Whitetail Ridge project pivots again with new funding award

A surprise announcement from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs last week will mean a significant shift in plans for development of residential units in Cotulla.

Coming less than a month after the city council acknowledged that Cotulla would likely not qualify for a higher level of funding for its Whitetail Ridge housing project, the state announcement on Wednesday effectively removes the city’s need to find over five million dollars in up-front payment.

Whitetail Ridge is the name given by councilors to an undeveloped area on high ground beside the Las Palmas business park that includes hotels, restaurants, a nursing home, the county’s emergency operations center, and the Madison Pointe apartment complex.

Managed by the nationwide Volunteers of America program to provide affordable housing in high-need areas, Whitetail Ridge will become a multi-family housing project spearheaded in Cotulla by consultant Pegy Brimhall, who confirmed last week that the city has qualified for and will be awarded around $12 million towards the estimated $15 million construction cost.

Councilors had met in June to learn that a lesser-funded version of the program would have provided a mere 35 percent of construction coverage. A significant portion of the construction cost would be paid with a guaranteed loan – repaid through rent revenues at the housing complex – and a so-called gap of around $5.2 million that Cotulla would have to pay in February next year.

The state’s grant announcement last week means Cotulla will again pivot towards developing its original plan for affordable housing on the hill.

City Administrator David Wright said in an interview on Thursday, July 2, that he and Brimhall believe virtually all of the cost of the Whitetail Ridge project will be covered.

There will be changes to the design of the housing project under the higher funding option, according to both the city administrator and the housing consultant. Not only will the development have fewer units but residents with economic hardship will also be accepted into the apartments.

Originally planned at 60 units for low- to middle-income families working in the service industry, education, law enforcement, the energy industry, and retail business, Whitetail Ridge will now be built with 48 apartments and may include families in limited employment or receiving financial support.

Wright said last week that employment or steady income from benefits will be required of all residents at Whitetail Ridge, and the housing complex management company will enforce strict residency rules to ensure that the complex does not fall into disrepair.

“This won’t be project housing,” Wright said. “This won’t be anything like what people expect when they think of low-income housing.

“This is a great development for Cotulla,” the city administrator said. “The council has made it clear that it wants to build respectable and high-quality accommodation for working families, close to schools and close to places of employment. There is a massive need for good housing in this community and we are going to help meet that demand.”

The reduction in the number of units built at Whitetail Ridge has lowered the anticipated construction cost from $19.2 million, and Wright said the remainder of the funding required to complete the project will come from the La Salle County government and the Economic Development Council.

La Salle County commissioners voted unanimously earlier this year to make $2 million available to the city of Cotulla for a multi-family housing development and reiterated that commitment in June.

The city’s Economic Development Council receives a fraction of the city’s sales tax revenues from the state of Texas and uses the money for construction in areas that will contribute to economic activity or improve quality of life in the community, thereby making it more attractive to new businesses and residents. The broad spectrum of EDC projects permitted to date has included improvements at the Cotulla – La Salle County Airport and installation of sidewalks leading to the Ramirez/Burks Elementary School.

The design for Whitetail Ridge includes a pedestrian walkway to the school as well as a childcare facility and space for training seminars, social services and other provisions to assist residents, according to both Wright and Brimhall.

The Middle Rio Grande Development Council, which supports community projects, has indicated it may make a $750,000 grant available to the housing development in Cotulla.

The award from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will be made to Cotulla representatives at a ceremony in Austin this month.

Brimhall told councilors at their June meeting that a construction schedule for the original 60-unit development could see the first residents occupying one of three buildings at the site as early as the summer of 2027. The city has indicated it expects to follow the same schedule in its construction of the 48-unit complex.