Four development projects in the works across Tarrant County will provide more than 500 homes to people who can’t afford to pay rent or have experienced homelessness.

The surging costs of rent in Fort Worth has led to fewer options for working families on the lowest end of income scales, such as those who make $20,000 to $30,000. Fewer apartment complexes and rental properties are accepting tenants who have been evicted before or rely on public assistance.

“The amount of housing that we are going to produce really will be transformational,” said Lauren King, executive director of the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition. “Being able to give people options and not have to face those barriers is really important. ... Also, it helps us move them out of homelessness faster.

On Tuesday, Tarrant County commissioners agreed to authorize $19.9 million toward the four affordable housing projects using federal stimulus money. That amount will fund 105 of the 529 total homes.

This summer, the coalition was working with 300 to 500 families actively seeking housing, King said. The numbers of homeless families in Fort Worth nearly doubled this year, putting shelters at capacity this fall and leaving some families without safe places to sleep.

In August, there were 340 children — equivalent to 20 kindergarten classrooms — in Fort Worth shelters, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has said. Half of those children were under 5.

The four new development projects will help significantly.

The largest of the projects is Tobias Place in Worth Heights with nearly 292 apartments at the corner of West Biddison Street and South Jennings Avenue in Fort Worth. Developers of the $76 million complex have told the city that average income of residents will be around $35,000, and rents will range from $385 per month to $1,100 per month for three-bedroom units. An after-school child care center and 24-hour security are included.

Fort Worth Housing Solutions is building the $62 million Hughes House with 162 units at 4830 E. Rosedale St. near Stop Six. The housing authority also has plans to provide 55 units by converting a motel to permanent housing at 8401 West Freeway for a cost of $12.1 million.

Presbyterian Night Shelter has plans for 24 units at 7600 Crowley Road.

Those four projects are in addition to more than 100 units that are in the works through the city.

King said the developments will help families facing a variety of hardships, from people who have been homeless for more than a year to older adults and families struggling to pay rent.

“There are different needs among different segments of the population,” she said. “When we can get this big amount of units set aside, it really helps to overcome barriers that we face,” such as poor credit.

The affordable and “deeply affordable” housing developments — defined as units for families that earn income but have been homeless because they can’t pay market-rate rent — is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court has allocated a total of $32.5 million toward the affordable housing. A second round of projects will use the remaining $12.6 million.

“I’m proud of how quickly we are moving to fund these proposals for affordable and deeply affordable housing,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley in a statement. “We have great community partners who are ready to develop these units and, by doing so, we will significantly decrease the number of people facing homelessness in Tarrant County. Once again, I believe Tarrant County is setting the bar for collaborative partnerships and the strategic deployment of resources.”

The county’s allocation of the funding involved a committee that included county officials, advocates for homeless people, the finance and lending industry, and someone who has experienced homelessness.

Nearly all Texas cities are seeing jumps in the number of homeless people. As of earlier this fall, more families experienced homelessness in Fort Worth than in Houston.

This story was originally published December 15, 2022 1:44 PM.