Developer Schedules Meeting on Senior-Living Facility

With groundbreaking ceremonies for Canyon Lake’s first senior-living facility just weeks away, a management team with Kansas City-based developer Overland Property Group is flying in next week to introduce residents to another new project, The Residences at Overlook Ridge.

Matt Gillam, vice president of development and a partner with Overland Property Group, said he has scheduled a Neighborhood Meeting and Developer Meet and Greet for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Tye Preston Memorial Library, 16311 S Access Rd, Canyon Lake.

This new project, the 35-unit Residences at Overlook Ridge, will be built on the southside of FM 306 east of Maricopa Drive and west of Riverside Path. It also will be managed by Overland.

The company’s “sister” project, Residences at Canyon Lake, is located on Island View Drive.

Gillam said he hopes to dispel misconceptions about the two developments designed for senior citizezns:

• They’re not really “low-income” because most seniors are on a fixed income. This causes their income to be less than 80-percent of the area medium income (AMI), which is the requirement to qualify.
• The units are of high-quality construction and Energy Star-certified.
• Affordable rents start at $500 per month although several units will be priced at market rates of around $1,000.
• Overland Property Group is the new neighbor — the units will not be sold to other property-management companies
• The communities are ADA compliant and well-planned for Canyon Lake’s aging population.
• They’re “independent living,” not “assisted living.”
• All residents must pass criminal background checks.
• Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines for the tax credits that make these facilities profitable for developers, rents must remain affordable for 40 years.

“We’re looking forward to becoming a community member,” Gillam said. “We want people to put a face to a name, to give people the opportunity to meet us in an informal setting and ask questions.”

The meeting also is designed to head off some of the grumbling and rumors on social media warning of low-income housing and the strain new developments might put on county infrastructure.

On Feb. 14, Gillam will appear before Comal County Commissioners Court seeking a resolution of support like the one granted his company in 2018 for Residences at Canyon Lake.

He said Overland Property Group already has received more calls than it anticipated about its senior housing.

“We could build hundreds of senior apartments in Canyon Lake and not meet demand.”

However, the company has no plans to build additional properties in the Canyon Lake area.

Bridget Snodgrass, Overland’s vice president of Senior Operations, also will attend the meeting.

She’s worked in senior living for over a decade, managing up to 18 communities and over 2,300 units across the midwest.

“Her mind is constantly working towards making seniors’ lives better,” Gillam said.

To learn more about Residences at Overlook Ridge, visit the company’s Facebook page for the development.

About Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Developments

According to AffordableHousingOnline.com, The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program helps create affordable apartment communities with lower-than-market rents by offering tax incentives to the property owners (not the tenant renting the unit).

Properties may contain market rate units that are not financially assisted, in addition to reduced-rent LIHTC units under a tiered rent structure.

A tiered rent structure means that it’s possible for the same unit to have different rent amounts for occupants with different incomes.

Private management companies and individual owners manage these low-income housing apartment communities. LIHTC units may also have a rental subsidy program attached to them, such as the Project-Based Section 8 program.