AUSTIN, Travis County — (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN) The federal government’s partial shutdown is delaying a Travis County plan to build affordable housing and expand county offices on its Airport Boulevard campus.
The $30 million complex, known as Travis Flats, will be built at 5325 Airport Blvd., next to existing county offices, and will include more office space as well as 146 apartments, with 122 designated for low-income residents. Before the financing troubles arose, the project had an expected opening date of fall 2020.
The county has been waiting to hear from the Federal Housing Administration, a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about a loan to partially finance the project. Karen Thigpen, county corporations project and program manager, said Wednesday that the processing of loan applications is on hold because of the shutdown.
Now, the county is at the mercy of Congress and President Donald Trump as the standstill over a border wall continues to disrupt federal programs throughout the nation.
This story originally appeared on the Austin American-Statesman. To read the original story in its entirety, click here.