Newton residents priced out of the rental market have until Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. to enter the lottery for one of 73 below-market apartments at Newton Crossing, the 292-unit complex under construction on Washington Street in West Newton.

Rents start at $1,348 for a studio and top out at $2,959 for a three-bedroom — a real gap from Newton's average two-bedroom rent of $3,500, according to the city's Housing Priorities Task Force. The units split into two tiers: 10 reserved for households earning up to 50% of the Area Median Income, and 63 for households up to 80% AMI. Income limits range from $60,000 for a single person at the lower tier up to $159,050 for a six-person household at the higher one, with minimum income requirements starting at $40,400 — though anyone receiving housing assistance is exempt from those minimums. Applicants can't own property; anyone who does must sell before signing a lease. You don't have to live in Newton to apply, but preference goes to households that live or work in the city, or have kids enrolled in Newton schools.

Garden Communities, a New Jersey developer, took over the project from Mark Development, the firm behind Trio in Newtonville and the Riverside development in Lower Falls. Ward 3 City Councilor Julia Malakie said she's been "impressed by how [Garden Communities] has gotten this project built expeditiously when so many others have stalled, while also working with neighbors through the liaison committee to try to minimize disruptions." Ann Houston of the Newton Fair and Affordable Housing Partnership said the project fills a specific gap in the city's housing stock: family-sized two- and three-bedroom affordable units, which Newton badly needs.

Newton has just 2,075 affordable homes total — only 6.2% of its housing stock — and 42% of Newton renters are already cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the same April task force report. Every unit added chips away at a shortage years in the making.

SEB Housing is running the lottery for Garden Communities. Applications go in online, with the full information packet at sebhousing.com/property/newton-crossing/. The deadline is Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. Six units include mobility assistance features and two include hearing assistance features, with priority given to households that need them. First move-ins are expected in September.

Newton Crossing isn't happening in isolation. The West Newton Armory redevelopment, a fully affordable 43-unit project, got its building permit last year with marketing expected to start this summer. And the Northland development on Needham Street — now called "Pattern District" — placed the final beam on its first residential building in May, with 145 affordable units planned among its 822 total.