Southeast Austin just locked in a major affordable housing win: a 348-unit income-restricted community backed by a long-term ground lease from Safehold Inc., with national developer The NRP Group set to build it and an expected delivery in 2028. Safehold is calling this its 20th ground lease supporting a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit project and its first affordable housing deal in Texas.
The company laid out the basics in a press release, noting that the development will include 348 affordable units built by The NRP Group. According to PR Newswire, Safehold’s Head of Investments Steve Wylder said, “We’re thrilled to establish a relationship with the team at NRP, and to break into the Affordable Housing market in Texas.”
How a ground lease helps close the gap
Instead of buying the land outright, developers in a ground-lease structure lease it long-term and pour their equity and debt into the actual bricks and mortar. In a city where land prices can sink a deal before it starts, that separation of land cost from construction can help make the numbers work on larger affordable projects.
Safehold says its long-term, lower-cost ground-lease capital is designed to reduce the upfront funding hurdle for LIHTC developments, which can be especially tricky to finance at scale. For more on how the company structures these deals, see Safehold.
Why LIHTC still matters
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is still the federal government’s main workhorse for building and preserving affordable rental housing. States award tax credits to developers, who then sell those credits to investors to raise equity. That extra equity lets projects carry less debt, which helps keep rents lower, often for decades.
The structure, and its central role in producing large numbers of income-restricted units across the country, is outlined by NCSHA.
Where this fits in Austin's pipeline
Austin has a growing list of affordable housing efforts in motion, from nonprofit homebuilding to city-backed multifamily deals, yet local reporting continues to show that supply trails demand. Recent coverage of ongoing work, including a 138-home Habitat for Humanity push highlighted in February, underscores how much more housing is still needed. That is where this new Safehold and NRP project joins the pipeline; see 138-home Habitat push.
The NRP Group, which is handling development for the Southeast Austin complex, is a national player with more than 67,000 units developed, according to its website NRP Group.
Next up, with the ground lease now in place, are key milestones such as LIHTC allocation, permitting and construction schedules as the team works through local approvals. The parties have not yet released a specific project address or a detailed timeline beyond the 2028 delivery window. For the company announcement and local coverage, see PR Newswire and WhatNow.
