Downtown Wichita Falls looking to receive new apartments

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) -Downtown Wichita Falls is getting closer to building a new apartment complex after city council approved a stepped tax abatement for the petroleum building.

A stepped tax abatement means once the project is finished the property taxes won’t immediately go up to the current market value, making the project more attractive to the lenders providing the money for the project.

This building was formerly the Crescent Plaza Hotel and now houses Highlander Public House restaurant. There are 9 floors above the restaurant that have been vacant for about a decade.

“That has been my goal is to try and help with the downtown development,” Will Kelty, building owner and real estate investor said. “This will be a huge step in the right direction. Right now there are about 200 residences in the downtown area in terms of apartments. This will virtually double it. We are talking about 170 residences down here.”

He says this is a multi-step process and they are in the early stages right now, but following the approval today by city council, he is the closest he has ever been to bringing this project to life.

They have not approved the start of the project yet but that decision is expected to be made in about 4-6 weeks by city council.