AUSTIN (KXAN) — The need for affordable housing is high.

Wednesday, Austin’s newest affordable housing community officially opens. Waterloo Terrace is Foundation Communities’ newest development featuring 132 units.

The north Austin apartment complex is located near MoPac Expressway and Parmer Lane. It will house individuals. Those with the nonprofit report more than 1,300 people applied for a unit.

“(It’s) people who may be friends from church or school,” Walter Moreau, the nonprofit’s executive director said. “Maybe someone in your family that just needs an affordable place to live and a little help.”

This will mark Foundation Communities’ seventh housing community specifically for individuals. There are 16 other locations that are family communities.

The nonprofit also offers on-site support services at each of its housing communities. At Waterloo Terrace, tenants will find case management, a food pantry, computer classes, a fitness room and a pet grooming area.

Moreau said they added the new feature of the grooming area after realizing many of their more than 7,000 tenants had pets, specifically dogs and cats.

“We try to put services at people’s doorstep because that’s how people will take advantage,” Moreau said.

Waterloo Terrace is just one of 20 communities across the Austin area working to fill a growing gap.

“We’re not a small town anymore,” Moreau said.

In the last 25 years, Moreau said he has noticed the demand for affordable housing has exploded and continues to go up.

“If we want Austin to be an affordable place to live, we have to create more affordable housing and supportive housing to take care of all of us,” he said.

Individuals who make $34,200 or less each year qualify to live at Waterloo Terrace. Rent ranges from $475 to $855 and it includes bills.

Moreau said there is no time limit on how long a person can stay. The communities are designed to support those in need. He said an apartment could help someone get back on their feet for a couple of months or serve as someone’s home for the rest of their life.

At present, Foundation Communities is working on constructing new communities.

These projects include the Laurel Creek community in north Austin near Lamar Boulevard and Braker Lane. It will house 88 low-income families, many of which the nonprofit said are in the process of exiting homelessness. The community will include a learning center to provide after-school and summer academic programs. This location is expected to open in late 2021.

Near the nonprofit’s Lakeline’s Station in far north Austin, The Loretta will be built. It will house 137 low-income tenants. It’s expected to open in late 2022.

Foundation Communities will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday in honor of Waterloo Terrace’s grand opening.