Ameritex Homes President Tara Williams said pandemic-related labor and supply shortages have hampered construction progress for the company, leading to the partially completed houses that can be seen around Waco.
Ameritex has permits to build between 70 and 80 houses on infill lots in developed neighborhoods, primarily in North Waco and East Waco.
City planning officials expect to meet with the developer next week after local housing advocates pointed out the stalled projects throughout town, including Mike Stone, director of Grassroots Waco, which runs homebuilding and repair programs, in addition to offering financial literacy classes and other programs.
Stone said Ameritex has started work on all but eight of the homes it has permits for.
Waco Planning Director Clint Peters said his department has the authority to void building permits if work has not started after six months. Permits do not come with deadlines for work to be completed.
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“We’re working on scheduling a meeting with them (Ameritex) to get updates on what the issues are, and where they are in the process on these,” Peters said.
He said under the city code he can also require a builder to fence off construction sites, as well as keep them clean and secure.
“If you’re not making progress, or you have a dilapidated structure, we can use code (to address it),” Peters said.
Williams, the Ameritex president, said 74 homes are on track for completion by March 21.
“Our ideal time is six months,” Williams said. “Throughout COVID, we’ve seen some of our projects go 12 months and beyond, just as a result of material and labor challenges. But we’re really seeing that time compress back down to six months now.”
Stone said he took issue with Ameritex long before he noticed the unfinished homes on lots the company owns. Since their homes began popping up in 2019, Stone has said he thinks the homes the company has already built throughout Waco are poor quality with facades that are too plain.
“You can just drive by and pick them out,” he said. “They’re building to code. It’s just not what we (Grassroots Waco) would build.”
Stone said lots throughout town are in various stages ranging from vacant land to stacks of lumber and partially built structures. He said one lot at 16th Street and Bosque Boulevard near the Grassroots office sat for nine months, and after Grassroots contacted the city about the matter Ameritex installed siding and fenced off the site.
A trio of Ameritex lots on North 11th Street have trenches and plumbing components in the ground, no foundation, and stacks of lumber for framing waiting on standby.
“You want to build a house to minimize all your holding costs so that you can make a better return on your investment, and the longer it takes, the less you’re going to be able to make on the house,” Stone said.
The city of Waco adopted new residential design standards last year for infill development, intended to ensure new construction fits in with existing homes without looking completely uniform. When the new rules were under consideration, city council members said complaints from neighborhood associations specific to Ameritex homes were part of the reason they reviewed the design standards.
Stone said he has seen the difference in a wider variety of facades on Ameritex homes permitted since the new standards took effect.
“They look better, but they’re still … I pick them out,” Stone said.