JPI, a Dallas-based multifamily developer, is constructing a $132 million apartment community in Denton using tax-exempt municipal bonds. The 461-unit project at North Bonnie Brae Street and Bronco Way began construction in June and represents JPI’s first public-private partnership financed through municipal bonds. The financing was arranged by Berkadia Affordable Housing, with the Denton Housing Authority owning the land.
JPI CEO Payton Mayes explained that this funding approach allows for the delivery of workforce housing without relying on traditional capital markets. “The capital markets have been challenging over the past few years, but this was another tool in our tool chest that we could really bring value to the municipalities,” Mayes said.
Mayes also indicated that JPI is discussing similar models with other municipalities. “As more municipalities kind of get to understand the structure … we think that more and more municipalities will favor this over some alternatives,” he said.
Under the terms of the deal, Denton Housing Authority is expected to receive $35 million in equity over ten years. Half of the units will be designated as affordable: 35 percent for households earning up to 80 percent of area median income (AMI), 10 percent at 60 percent AMI, and 5 percent at 50 percent AMI. The rest will be market-rate apartments. Initial deliveries are planned for next fall, with full completion anticipated in early 2027.
Elsewhere in Denton, HL Communities—a division of Holt Lunsford—is developing workforce housing near Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and Texas Woman’s University.
JPI currently has seven projects under construction across Dallas-Fort Worth, including a $100 million development in Haltom City and an $80 million project called Jefferson Ridglea Village in Fort Worth.
