This story was originally published in Affordable Housing Finance.
Dallas-based Rise Residential Construction prides itself on providing homes for working families in high-opportunity areas in the Lone Star State.
“We need to thank the state for the last few years incentivizing in high-opportunity areas; otherwise we couldn’t have done these developments,” says Melissa Fisher, who has been president and majority owner of Rise Residential since 2010.
According to Fisher, the availability of affordable housing for working families is severely limited in the state and that she has encountered opposition to the firm’s communities.
“It breaks your heart to hear citizens or city council members say they don’t want their kids to go to school with the kids [of our proposed developments,]” she says. “If we don’t want to help all of the kids, then what are we doing this for?”
Henderson 1575, in rural Indian Lake, Texas, a higher-income area with highly rated schools, is one of the firm’s latest mixed-income developments embracing this approach.
The development, which was recently completed and undergoing lease-up, provides 24 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom, and 36 three-bedroom units for households earning 30 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the area median income as well as market rates.
“The ability to deliver high-quality housing in strong school districts is extremely important to us,” says Fisher. “It’s the highest service that we can offer to our youngest residents.”
Other amenities at Henderson 1575 include a basketball and tennis court, a dog park, a playground, a fitness center, a business center, after-school programs in the clubhouse, and other community space for residents.
In addition to family housing, Rise Residential focuses on large-scale independent senior-living developments in major metros. The fully integrated development, management, and construction company primarily works in Texas but recently entered Oklahoma to create a mixed-use development in tornado-ravaged Moore and is seeking to return to Colorado.
“We don’t want to take on too much work,” adds Fisher. “We want to focus on quality because we are long-term owners.”
This story was originally published in Affordable Housing Finance.
