TEMPLE, Texas — The City of Temple is hosting the 2022 Central Texas Housing Summit on March 29. The event is open to the public and will feature presentations by local leaders warning to find solutions to the housing crunch.
"Increasing affordable housing in the community will benefit Temple residents by allowing families to find homes within their budget and providing opportunities for individuals to start or grow their real estate business," said Director of Housing and Community Development, Nancy Glover.
Industry leaders and representatives from Temple, Killeen, Belton and surrounding communities will discuss several different topics, including real estate investing, managing rental properties and affordable housing. In addition, they will identify resources and government programs for builders, lenders, investors and small business owners.
We want to make sure that we are providing education and we are showing our residents that we are taking initiative and we have a roadmap," said Kiara Nowlin. "This is how we are working towards our goal of accommodating everybody and making sure our residents have a good quality of life which does include affordable housing."
Population growth, which saw nearly 16,000 people move to the City of Temple in ten years according to the latest Census, is at the forefront of the conversation this year. Dr. Lloyd Potter, the State of Texas Demographer will discuss the population growth in Central Texas as the keynote speaker.
"What do you understand that we are growing, not only as cities, but Central Texas as a region," Nowlin said. "It is important for us to identify how we are going to accommodate these new residents, we are excited to have them."
While the summit is designed for industry builders and investors, Nowlin said those that attend will realize, too, this is for the people who live here, work here and for those who want to someday as well.
"This is also the time to connect and to network. There's time scheduled to network and as we connect we can create strategies together, we can work together and when we work together we can work more efficiently and effectively to increase affordable housing," she said.
The summit, which is free to attend, will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center located at 3303 N. 3rd Street in Temple.