A $10.4 million redevelopment project at the Doris Miller Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is expected to break ground in October, with $550,000 of city funding on the table at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The development at 4800 Memorial Drive called Freedom’s Path will provide supportive housing for homeless, near-homeless and disabled veterans. Three historical buildings, buildings 19, 20 and 21 on the federal campus, will be leased to the nonprofit Solutions for Veterans that is managing the project and construction.
According to data from last year, 27 homeless veterans were identified in McLennan County, but Solutions for Veterans President Craig Taylor said the development will serve a much broader base than just those who are counted as homeless. It will be for veterans who may have gone to jail and are starting fresh, those on the verge of being evicted, those who are leaving traumatic living situations, people leaving treatment from addiction and many others, he said.
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The Freedom’s Path site plan shows three historical buildings and one newly constructed facility at the Doris Miller Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The project has seen a dramatic price increase since Solutions for Veterans first approached the city, jumping from an estimate of $5.6 million in 2020 to $10.4 million now. Taylor said the “eye-watering cost increase” is in part a result of higher prices for construction, material and labor across the board.
“Every developer on the planet right now is dealing with the same problem. … It’s a laborers’ market right now, especially in Texas,” he said.
The three historical buildings, dating back to the 1930s, will also require asbestos abatement and significant lead paint mitigation before any kind of site work can be done, accounting for much of the added expense, he said. Taylor said the VA has a zero-tolerance policy for any lead-based paint, and not only will the buildings’ surfaces need to be cleaned but also the soil around them will be mitigated for any lead that has leeched into the soil.
The labor-intensive process of rehabilitating historical buildings in itself is expensive, Taylor said.
In 2021 the Waco City Council backed the project, and Freedom’s Path was awarded $454,000 in low-income housing credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Taylor said the state housing department realized the increased costs since 2020 estimates and allowed 2021 awardees to apply for an additional 15% of their award amount, adding an extra $68,100 to the project’s state funding.
The $550,000 from the city, if approved by the council Tuesday, would come from its allocation of federal HOME-American Rescue Plan funding. Some $2.54 million was granted to Waco by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and HUD and city earlier this year approved an allocation plan for the funds that focuses on development of affordable rental housing and temporary shelters.
“Craig Taylor has been doing a great job moving this forward with local, state and federal levels of government, which is not always easy,” Council Member Josh Borderud said during a budget and audit meeting Tuesday. “I think that this serves not only a purpose of housing-insecure veterans here in Waco-McLennan County, and serving their needs, but also rehabbing these historic properties … and furthermore demonstrating our commitment to the VA’s investment in our community, which should never be taken for granted.”
The city agreement will list a 15-year affordability period for veterans who earn 0-30% of the area median income, but Taylor emphasized that the facility will be open to serve a wide range of veterans.
Taylor said part of the delay in getting the project started was the funding gap, as the VA will not enter into a lease without assurance that the project is funded. He said the VA approval process for the federal campus has to go through Congress, but he is looking to close on a 75-year lease by October.
“It’s a lot of money for very few units, but it solves a lot of problems,” he said.
The project will create 34 studio-type apartments ranging from 300 to 600 square feet across three unused VA buildings and one new building. Each unit will have its own kitchen, bathroom and living space.
Units at Freedom’s Path will range from 300 to 600 square feet and contain their own kitchen, bathroom and living space. Building 21 is planned to house 10 units across three stories.
A newly constructed 9,000-square-foot building on the Waco VA campus will have eight residential units and a 3,000-square-foot community space.
The new 9,000-square-foot building will be one story and contain eight residential units for mobility-, vision- and hearing-impaired tenants. It will also have a nearly 3,000-square-foot common area with room for a fitness space, office and meeting rooms, which Taylor said tenants could use to meet with social workers and caseworkers, hang out with other tenants and host events like birthday parties.
The asbestos abatement and construction will be handled by Waco-based contractors ARC Abatement and HCS Inc. Commercial General Contractor. Terracon Consultants Inc. out of Dallas will certify that the buildings are clean before HCS moves into them, Taylor said.
“We’re working hand in glove with Waco,” he said. “This is a Waco project.”
Mitigation and construction are anticipated to begin in October, with leasing of units beginning in October 2024.
Taylor, in his 12th VA campus renovation project, said the Waco campus has some classic architecture he will be proud to save. Not only will the renewal save taxpayers money the VA would spend to maintain and close off the unused buildings, but it will also provide decent and respectable housing for veterans looking to better their life, he said.
Additionally, living with other veterans, “with others who know what it means to have served,” can be a very healing environment for people with PTSD, addictive disorders and physical limitations, Taylor said.
Group living can combat isolation, which may keep someone from using drugs, committing suicide or getting into trouble. The veterans housed at Freedom’s Path will also be in close proximity to a variety of VA services.
“This is an extremely important dynamic. … They can live at Freedom’s Path for the rest of their lives if they want to,” Taylor said.
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