A McKinney-based nonprofit organization is building its first apartment complex in Princeton.

The Hope Housing Foundation’s mission is to create and preserve affordable workforce housing for low- to medium-income households and individuals.

Alvin Hope Johnson, who serves as president for the foundation, said Northgate Apartments will have 400 units once completed. He added construction on the building should begin in April.

The 400 apartments will be among the best rental options on the market, said Johnson. The complex, located at the intersection of FM 75 and Monticello Drive, will have a dog park and each unit will be individually insulated and come with a washer/dryer combination and utilities included in the rent.

“I think it’s really important at a time like this with inflation going through the roof,” Johnson said. “People get priced out of housing and there needs to be housing for people in a community.”

He emphasized the goal of the apartment building will be to provide safe, decent housing to the economically-challenged and members of the workforce community. Johnson said members of the workforce community include gray-collar professionals, such as teachers and police officers. 

There will be no restrictions on who can live in the complex, said Johnson.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development classifies a low-income household if it earns less than 80% of the area median income. In Princeton, the median income is $75,000, which means a household earning less than $60,000 would be considered low-income.

HUD recommends that no more than one-third of a household’s income cover housing costs including utilities. 

Johnson said the current market with higher home and rental prices is making it difficult for residents to find affordable housing options in Princeton and instead have to look at living in surrounding communities. He added Northgate Apartments is part of his organization’s solution to the affordable housing crisis.

Part of the appeal for constructing Northgate Apartments is the ability to create new high-quality construction for residents who may lack decent housing options, said Johnson. This is the first new building the nonprofit is constructing, but it is the first step in a larger plan.

“Today, with the rising costs of rent and apartments, a vintage 1970s complex will cost you over $90,000 or $110,000 per unit to renovate,” Johnson said. “We got to a point where we couldn’t justify spending that much on old construction.”

Johnson said it could cost more than $25 million to renovate an apartment building with 200 units. Based on the numbers Johnson provided, renovating a building the size of Northgate Apartments would cost $36 million to $44 million.

The total outlay to construct Northgate Apartments’ 400 units was between $40 and $50 million, but residents will get a newly constructed building fitted with structural insulated panels.

Johnson said his organization went with the newer technology because it is environmentally friendly and is also better at providing insulation. He added, “Why not do the best construction available?”

According to the Structural Insulated Panel Association, the structural insulated panel also allows for more energy efficiency of a heating and air conditioning system along with higher air quality inside a home or apartment.

“In an environment where everyone is hyper aware, this will provide people with housing that’s affordable and eco-friendly,” Johnson said. “When the units are completed, they will be near net-zero carbon emissions.”

Currently, the Hope Housing Foundation is associated with around 3,500 apartments across Texas. It owns a little over 1,000 units.

Additionally, the nonprofit is looking to oversee 20,000 units over the next five years.

The plan is to do more than just build affordable housing, said Johnson. Over the next several years, he said Hope Housing Foundation hopes to build a manufacturing plant to produce its own structural insulated panels to be used on new housing developments. 

There is also a plan to build a trade school near the manufacturing plant.

“Success is not about the number of units. For us, what it’s all about is to have our own structural insulated panel system and take nonviolent offenders to work in our manufacturing center to teach them to be entrepreneurs.”

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