City leaders are expressing understandable excitement about ongoing construction of the gated, 112-unit Costa Esmeralda apartment complex on Gurley Lane — and not just because it promises to greatly enhance the quality of affordable housing stock in a city grappling with the chronic scourge of poverty. As Jeff Wall, busy city of Waco director of housing and community development, tells us, it also means more construction jobs, part of the bedrock of any viable economy. And most of the hires for this project, we’re assured, are local.

From that doubled-edged perspective, the $13 million Costa Esmeralda venture now in the works seems a winner to us, contributing further to our economy during an otherwise anemic recovery and ensuring that those who move to Waco to work in jobs that provide more modest incomes don’t have to endure broken-down, neglected hovels. We’ve seen some low-income rental properties that, in all honesty, must be utterly disheartening to those hoping to improve their situations and that of their families.

As Jeff Wall told a member of the Tribune-Herald editorial board this week, Waco certainly has enough housing to accommodate lower-income residents, but many of these properties — both houses and apartments — are in poor repair, with rents higher than justified or even decent. Some abodes are so drafty they result in higher utility bills, to boot.

About $6.2 million of the Costa Esmeralda costs will be covered by a federal tax credit program, with another $1 million coming from loans, including $300,000 from the city of Waco. The Texas Housing Foundation will run the property, being developed by the highly esteemed San Antonio-based NRP Group.

Waco has been lucky in such housing partnerships, something that Wall credits to the city’s scrutiny of potential developers and management companies. He cites Mercy Housing for the success of the 54-unit Brook Oaks Senior Residences in North Waco and Landmark Assets Services Inc. for its work in transforming an old, abandoned high school into Historic Lofts of Waco High, complete with 104 units, each unique and fashioned from classrooms, tailored for low-income residents now betting on vibrant downtown growth.

If advance press about Costa Esmeralda proves true, it could yield something to envy for those of us who make too much to live there. (And we’ve heard the same envy expressed by some of our acquaintances about Historic Lofts of Waco High.) The housing now going up on Gurley Lane will offer a fitness center, pool, picnic and barbecue areas and a community center, altogether offering further incentive for people to bet their future on Waco.