370-Unit Killeen Apartment Complex Just One Week From Finalization

The city of Killeen is less than a week away from finalizing a contract with NRP Group, the entity contracted by Killeen’s Public Facilities Corporation to create a 370-unit mixed-income apartment complex in north Killeen.

“It’s been a long road to get here,” Senior Vice President of the NRP Group Alastair Jenkin said at a Public Facilities Corporation meeting on Tuesday evening. “We are finally at the finish line.”

The highly anticipated project, which was commissioned in January through the city’s PFC, will consist of 370 apartment units within a multi-story complex that will include amenities such as a pool, a gym, and a clubhouse.

“Everything that has been agreed to has come to fruition,” Jenkin said.

What makes the project unique is that 50% of the available units will be fixed-rent, with rates modeled on 80% of the area’s median income, which ranges from $35,000 to $50,000, according to data provided by Bell County. Jenkin also clarified that rates for fixed-rate apartments would be set once per year, based on public income data provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Once the contract is closed later this week, the property will be transferred into a joint venture between the NRP Group and the city in a 75-year lease.

Jenkin expects to break ground on the project within 30 days of the close of the contract, but it is possible that it could take up to 45 days to begin construction.

Several Killeen City Council members questioned Jenkin on Tuesday about COVID-19 related construction delays and potentially increased costs.

According to Jenkin, material costs have increased by as much as $4 million due to COVID-19 related material shortages that have skyrocketed lumber prices. However, the NRP Group vice president assured the City Council that increased project costs have been absorbed by the NRP Group and offset through recent rent models, which reflect the vastly increased rent prices felt across the nation brought on by COVID-19 related housing shortages.

“We haven’t taken a single dollar out of the project … that was really important to us,” he said.

In response to a question from Councilman Michael Boyd, Jenkin clarified that all NRP group projects have been delayed by approximately two months.

Once closed, the contract provides the city of Killeen with $350,000 in “closing fees” along with an additional $85,000 which the NRP group has agreed to pay the Department of Parks and Recreation for the improvement of Conder Park, which lies near the construction project.

Speaking before the meeting, residents Sandra Minor and Anthony Kendrick requested that monies received from the NRP Group be used for nonprofit organizations. Kendrick specifically requested that the City Council allocate at least a portion of the revenue towards the “K-Town Raptors,” a youth football league.

The topic of what to do with the proceeds consumed a sizable portion of the meeting, which was chaired by Councilwoman Mellisa Brown, who is the PFC board president.

Some members of the corporation board, such as Councilwoman Nina Cobb and Councilman Rick Williams, suggested that the funding be allocated in part to housing subsidization, with the rest being used to support youth programs within the city.

However, Councilman Ken Wilkerson argued against the use of PFC funding toward housing subsidies.

“I am not so much in favor of setting this money aside; we already have a robust CDBG program,” he said. “We should be vetting people well enough to where, a year after they start the program, they should not need to be subsidized.”

The corporation held in general consensus that the money should be used to assist youth programs within the city. However, a formal vote to allocate the monies has not taken place, and can be expected at a future PFC meeting. This discussion took place amid words of caution from the PFC’s lawyer, Jim Plummer, who advised the group to apportion any funding over the course of several years.

Once the contract has been closed, the NRP Group will be able to authorize the selection of what Jenkin described as “major subcontractors,” or contractors that have agreed to complete all of the project’s drywall, earthwork, or some other aspect of the plan. Additionally, the NRP Group has agreed to provide updates via the city’s website, in cooperation with Killeen City Manager Kent Cagle.

Other business

The City Council passed a lengthy, 10-item consent agenda, which included several road development projects, a bond issue and a disannexation request, among other items.

There was some confusion as Brown attempted to bring six items off the consent agenda for further debate; however, Briggs advised that no single council member may unilaterally bring an item or items off of the consent agenda. Briggs also clarified that her position was “to assist the mayor in matters of legal advice.”

Brown eventually voted in opposition to the consent agenda when Mayor Jose Segarra forced the vote over the councilwoman’s objections.

In other action, in a 4-3 decision, the City Council voted to approve a controversial rezoning request that city documents claimed would place a majority of the development within a FEMA flood plain. Boyd, Brown, and Councilwoman Jessica Gonzalez voted in opposition.

However, an engineer from the company speaking during the public forum said the development would not be part of a flood plain.

The city also approved a modification to the city’s revenue and expenses as part of an insurance claim against a structure fire that destroyed a significant portion of the roof at the city’s solid waste transfer station. The city claimed, and received, $229,000.

Town halls

Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Mickey’s Dog Park, 2201 E. Veterans Memorial Blvd. — Brown will host an “emergency town hall” to discuss bullying within the Killeen Independent School District.

Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center, 3601 S. W.S. Young Drive — Williams will host a town hall “to update citizens regarding my last year of work on the council and to hear from them regarding their concerns now and those shaping the future of our city.”