Burnet’s My Town project to build more homes as family moves in
Burnet city leaders and building industry officials broke ground in 2013 on the first of six properties purchased by the Burnet Economic Development Corp., which launched a program to spur the residential market and create jobs. The groundbreaking was attended by Burnet EDC board members Mark Lewis (left), Milton Phair, Ben Farmer, Philip Thurman, Cary Johnson and Wayne Brown and City Manager David Vaughn. File photo
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
BURNET — A family has moved into the first home built through Burnet’s private-public housing expansion project called My Town, while construction continues on two more homes and economic development leaders purchase additional lots.
The city launched the My Town program last year as a cooperative project among the Burnet Economic Development Corp., builders, Realtors and the city.
“One of the areas we started looking at is the southeast side of town,” City Manager David Vaughn said. “We’ve gone in there, bought up lots and are working deals with builders, Realtors and banks.”
The EDC purchases, clears and sells lots; the city waives building permits and impact fees; Realtors reduce service fees by as much as 2 percent; and the new homes help raise neighborhood property values, he said.
“The effort started off as an attempt to increase building permits and turned into a quality-of-life issue,” Vaughn said. “We desperately need quality rental property and affordable single-family (homes) that are affordable.”
Vaughn said progress has prompted city leaders to keep moving forward with projects.
“We recently signed a deal with one of our new partners, Langley Homes, for four new homes located at the corner of Pierce and Pecan,” he said. “One of those is actually a 1,700-square-foot spec home.”
A family recently moved into a My Town home, a 1,400 square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath structure with two carports in the 1200 block of Live Oak.
Crews continue work on two other homes: one on Live Oak and another on Marble Street.
The EDC is expected to invest about $120,000 this cycle for the purchase of lots, turning $25,000 lots into $10,000-$15,000 lots to coax investors to build new homes ranging from $130,000 to $150,000.
“A lot of the issues with people moving out, which affects the school districts and businesses and down the line, all of it started when jobs related to housing started to leave the area,” Vaughn said. “We want to be that conduit to make those properties developable.”
connie@thepicayune.com