Aldrich 51 affordable pitch to Austin’s Mueller development

​AUSTIN - ​More affordable housing is underway at the Mueller neighborhood in Northea​st Austin, this time on a new apartment building with units for working-class families and other income-qualified tenants.

Construction recently started on the complex, a $40 million project called Aldrich 51. 

The four-story building will have 240 apartments and will be on the west side of Aldrich St. between Barbara Jordan Blvd. and 51st St. at Mueller, the large mixed-use development that contains housing, shopping, dining, entertainment, and parks.

Aldrich 51 will have studio apartments and units with one, two and three bedrooms.

DMA Development Company said 85 percent of the 240 units will be earmarked for families, working couples, single parents and older adults who earn 30 percent to 60 percent of the area’s median income, which ranges from $32,000 a year for one person to $41,250 a year for a family of four.

The first apartments at Aldrich 51 are expected to be ready in June 2017.

Monthly rents for the affordable units will range from $350 for a studio with about 525 sf to $1,075 a month to three bedrooms with 1,200 sf.

The bulk of the affordable units—139—are expected to have rents ranging from $750 a month to $1,075 a month.

The project also will have 36 units with market-rate rents, ranging from $1,350 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $2,200 for a three-bedroom unit.

Social and educational activities, including computer training programs, financial counseling and poolside barbecues, will be provided on site at no cost to residents.

As of December 2015, Mueller had 1,050 affordable homes and apartments presently occupied or planned in the next phase, or 28 percent of the 3,750 current total in those categories.

Once completed, Mueller is expected have about 5,900 residential units, including at least 1,475 affordable homes and apartments, meeting the 25 percent requirement.

Current data indicates that Austin has a shortage of 48,000 affordable housing units, up from a deficit of 37,000 units five years ago.