No Windstorm Insurance Rate Increase, TDI Says

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has denied a 10 percent rate increase requested by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).

According to TDI, the state-backed windstorm insurer's current rates should cover its projected costs and the costs of financing bonds it would need to issue following a catastrophic storm.

The association last raised windstorm rates in February. Rates jumped 12.3 percent for homeowners and 15.6 percent for commercial property owners.

TWIA had 228,000 policyholders as of Sept. 30. About 2,800 of those are in Harris County, and roughly 64,900 are in Galveston County.

New Initiative Seeks Stable Housing Market

WASHINGTON (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) – The Obama Administration yesterday announced a new initiative for state and local housing finance agencies (HFAs). It will help support low mortgage rates and expand resources for low- and middle-income borrowers to purchase or rent homes that are affordable over the long term.

The initiative has two parts: a new bond purchase program to support new lending by HFAs and a temporary credit and liquidity program to improve the access of HFAs to liquidity for outstanding HFA bonds.

The HFA Initiative will provide hundreds of thousands of affordable mortgages for working families and enable the development and rehabilitation of tens of thousands of affordable rental properties.

According to HUD, it will do this at little or no cost to taxpayers because it is paid for by the HFAs themselves and, as a temporary program, it incentivizes HFAs to transition back to market sources of capital as quickly as possible.

"Through this initiative, the administration aims to help HFAs jumpstart new lending to borrowers who might not otherwise be served and to better support the financing costs of their current programs — key components in stabilizing the housing market overall," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

HFAs will pay a fee to have access to both programs under the HFA Initiative. These fees have been designed to cover expected costs to the Treasury Department and the taxpayer.

More information is available on HUD's website.

NeighborWorks Leases, Sells PEARLS

WACO (Waco Tribune) – NeighborWorks Waco has purchased 20 foreclosed or vacant homes in the past year as part of its PEARLS program, which helps first-time homebuyers purchase a home.

Short for Purchase Efficient, Affordable homes; Rehab, Lease and Sell, PEARLS homes are leased to tenants not yet ready for homeownership, many of whom use housing vouchers.

To help tenants prepare to for buying, NeighborWorks offers homeownership classes covering credit counseling, financing, insurance and other homebuying issues.

If the tenant decides to buy the home they lease, NeighborWorks helps cover the down payment by extending a no-interest loan. In this case, the classes are mandatory.

Additionally, homeowners can receive 30-year fixed rate loans from the organization.

All 20 PEARLS homes are currently occupied or being renovated.

To surpass their goal of 40 PEARLS homes by fall 2010, NeighborWorks will receive a $1.1 million federal grant within the next few months.

Amarillo Construction Rises, Falls

AMARILLO (Amarillo Globe-News) – Local home construction increased during the first three quarters, but overall construction spending fell 10 percent from the same period in 2008.

Amarillo recorded 418 single-family home starts valued at $98.6 million between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 within its city limits. This was a 1.8 percent increase in spending from the same period last year, which saw 398 home starts worth $96.8 million.

Lew Bradshaw, executive officer of the Texas Panhandle Builders Association, predicts the city will finish the year well over 2008’s 469 starts with 550 to 570.

But overall, construction permits declined in the first three quarters of 2009.

Permits were issued for 2,028 commercial and residential new construction, remodeling, roofing and demolition projects worth more than $263.6 million through Sept. 30.

The same period of 2008 produced 40 more valued at $294.1 million.

Money invested in new commercial structures declined 38.5 percent from $117.8 million in 2008’s first three quarters to almost $72.4 million so far this year.

Research Valley Move-In Delayed

COLLEGE STATION (The Eagle) – Lynntech’s Science Park at Research Valley will not be occupied until early next year. Design and remodeling factors delayed its original Sept. 1 move-in date.

After being vacant for a decade, 70,000 sf of the 180,000-sf 1983 building at 2501 Earl Rudder South are being reconstructed to fit the scientific research company’s needs.

Lynntech has an agreement with Research Valley Partnership to make at least $3 million in capital improvements to the building, maintain 120 jobs and add another 30 positions with an average salary of $75,000.

In exchange, it will receive a $500,000 loan from the partnership to be used on the overall reconstruction, and College Station will waive developmental fees while the building is being redeveloped.

Upon move-in, about 140 Lynntech employees will work at Science Park.

Pondering a Small Farm Operation?

COLLEGE STATION (Texas AgriLife Extension Service and AgriLife Research) – Anyone with a green thumb, an entrepreneurial spirit and a little land can produce and sell vegetables, fruits, nuts, and greenhouse and nursery products. All it takes is a little know-how.

That's where AgriLife Extension's Small Acreage Horticultural Crops program comes in.

"This program is designed to help small-scale producers in rural and suburban areas become more knowledgeable in identifying and planning ways to diversify their operations in a sustainable way," said Dr. Joseph Masabni, who was involved in the program's creation.

The free program will be offered by AgriLife Extension agents in various Texas counties beginning this fall. The initiative will include two webinars, one on Nov. 18 and another on April 13.

Experts will talk about site selection, marketing and economic considerations, and specifics on production for a variety of potential crops. Topics will also include how likely the produce is to sell in various markets, the best season and location for growing certain crops, and the labor and equipment required.

For more information, visit the program's website.

Wimberley Moves to Prevent Water Pollution

WIMBERLEY (Austin American-Statesman) – The city council has asked the state’s attorney general to give them rights to impose construction rules outside city limits to limit water pollution.

Enacting these construction rules in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which is outside the city but subject to certain city rules, would reduce the impact of pollutants such as oil and fertilizer that wash off driveways and yards.

The rules could require setbacks from waterways, detention ponds to capture pollutants or silt fences to prevent construction materials or eroding soils from washing into streams.

State Rep. Patrick Rose, acting on behalf of Wimberly, posed the matter to the attorney general's office. The attorney general’s opinion, though not binding, would be persuasive in courts.

An answer is unlikely to come this year, but the public comment period closes Friday.

GVS Ideal's Permian Basin Purchase

ODESSA (Texas GVS Ideal Investments) – Texas GVS Ideal Investments LLC has purchased a property that includes multifamily housing, storage units and a commercial building.

Palm Garden Apartments, renamed Buena Vista Gardens, is at 222 N. Dixie Blvd. It has 109 apartment units averaging 611 sf. It also has 101 storage units and a 2,700-sf commercial building.

The property, which was built in 1972 and renovated in 2007–08, is 95 percent occupied. It will be managed by SunRidge Management Group of Dallas.

The seller was Palm Gardens Apartments LLC.

SA Hospitality Sector's $11 Billion Impact

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – The Alamo City's hospitality sector exceeded some industry insiders' expectations by contributing $11 billion to the local economy last year.

That represents an 8 percent growth rate between 2006 and 2008, according to the latest report from the San Antonio Area Tourism Council.

The report also said the city's hotels, restaurants, theme parks, travel agencies and other hospitality interests employed 106,311 and contributed $285 million in taxes and fees to area governments last year.

“Tourism, in conjunction with our growing military presence and flourishing biotech and cyber security sectors, has helped keep the city on more firm financial footing than a lot of American cities," a statement by Mayor Julián Castro said.

Still, the sector's economic impact did not grow as much from 2006 to 2008 as it did from 2004 to 2006 (16 percent) and from 2002 to 2004 (13 percent).

Bayou City's New Bridge

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – A recently opened bridge has provided a new route into the Texas Medical Center, as well as direct access to Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo and Rice University.

Named after the Texas Medical Center Corp.'s CEO, the Richard E. Wainerdi Bridge allows vehicles to drive directly across Brays Bayou from the South Loop.

The $9 million bridge was funded by Harris County, the City of Houston, The Woodlands, Texas Medical Center institutions and donors.

Luzzatto Flexes in Addison

ADDISON (globest.com) – SoCal buyer Luzzatto Real Estate Co. has purchased the 182,154-sf Addison II from SPI Holdings through its Real Estate Value Fund I LP.

The flex building at 4550 Excel Pkwy. is 60 percent leased.

The seller was represented by CB Richard Ellis' Dallas office, which has been retained to fill the facility.