The Lake Mead West Apartments are open and accepting applications for affordable units that start below $1,000 a month. A one-bedroom is leasing for $929. Two bedrooms for $1,116 and three for $1,290.

That’s quite a bit lower than prices around the valley, but there’s already a waiting list.

Developers of the three-story, 156-unit complex, which is at 32654 W. Lake Mead Blvd. in North Las Vegas, are partnering with HopeLink to help residents get needed wrap-around services.

“As we all know, affordable housing is a crisis here in Southern Nevada,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Susie Lee said. “Having a unit like this that will offer affordable housing for families is so incredibly important.

“Clark County ranks at the top of households that are renters,” she said. “We rank at the top of the list of cities in which families spend over one-third of their income on rent.”

“There’s a saying … ‘It’s expensive to be poor,’ ” Lee said. The apartments are a success story in bringing affordable housing to the valley. The same developer is breaking ground on apartments this fall for seniors on a 4-acre lot next to Lake Mead West.

A brochure tells applicants right up front the income requirements to qualify. Deposits add up to $600, and more for pet owners.

Lee said there are people on the street who have jobs, but they can’t afford the requirements of many apartment complexes in the valley.

North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes Brown and Ward 2 Councilwoman Ruth Garcia-Anderson were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, along with Lee, representatives from U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s office and Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II.

Hassan Chaudhry, managing partner for Foresight Companies, the project’s developer, thanked the builders, city officials, and HopeLink in a speech before the ribbon cutting. He said without the wrap-around services that are connected to Lake Mead West, the building was really just a shell.

The apartments are just south of the North Las Vegas Airport, and just east of the empty lot where Texas Station used to be.

The apartments surround a courtyard with a pool, and a dog park is located near the entrance gate off Lake Mead Boulevard. A playground is still under construction.

“The challenges in getting this project done almost started immediately,” according to Joe DiRaffaele, owner of Foresight Companies. “Before we even got into planning, the whole world was shut down with the pandemic.”

He said the project had to overcome supply chain issues and labor issues.“Everywhere along the way, we were tested to see what our resolve was,” DiRaffaele said, noting that partnerships with the builders, in the community and with the city were important to finishing the apartments.

Source (with additional photos): https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/new-apartments-applauded-as-affordable-housing-in-north-las-vegas/

See also: https://news3lv.com/news/local/lake-mead-west-apartments-opening-in-north-las-vegas

If weren’t for the Ensemble Senior Apartments, 70-year-old Carmen Campione said she’d probably be living in a tent.

Campione spoke at an event Thursday in which officials signed documents handing five acres of federal land over to Clark County, so a complex similar to Ensemble could be built at Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road.

The planned 195-unit complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments, being constructed by Ovation Design &Development, is expected to break ground this year and open in 2025, project manager Jess Molasky said.

It will include a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, meeting facilities, a wellness center, accessible showers and a hair salon, the county said.

“The project represents one of the first efforts in the county’s groundbreaking Welcome Home initiative aimed at creating more affordable housing options for those Las Vegas Valley residents most in need,” the county said.

In September, the county approved about $120 million to fund housing projects under the initiative. The county said it will earmark $10 million from those funds and $1.8 in American Rescue Plan dollars for the new complex.

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who advocated for the land transfer, said initiatives like this one “requires everyone to come together.”

“It starts from the ground up,” she said. “It starts also not only developing and getting that land initially, but it requires individuals that have the patience … to put this together.”

The Nevada Democrat touted the partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Clark County and the developer in getting the deal done.

And a lack of these kinds of projects increases their importance, the developer said.

“Affordability has become such an issue that these affordable housing projects are so much more important,” Molasky told the Review-Journal. With rising building costs and supply chain impediments, “the deal wouldn’t be possible” without public-private partnerships, he said. Molasky said Ovation has developed 13 affordable senior-living communities.

Still, he added, there are wait lists as “the gap is pretty big on how many houses are needed.”
Clark County estimates a shortage of more than 85,000 homes for low- and very low-income earners.

Campione said she and her husband earn less than $2,000 a month. They rent a one-bedroom unit at Ensemble for $600 and don’t need to pay for utilities.

She heard about Ensemble about five years ago from her mother-in-law, who lived there. They got a call back from management two weeks after completing an application and moved from Arizona shortly after.

“I love it here,” the Puerto Rico native said in Spanish. “The community is beautiful.”

She said that it has been easy to make friends and that organizations regularly visit to provide food and essential items, further helping them “economize.”

Campione implored seniors with limited budgets to apply.

“I live in a beautiful place,” she said. “It’s beautiful, comfortable and with good people.”

Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft complimented her senior complex.

“There really aren’t many places in our community like this, where people, regardless of the affordability, they want to be here,” he said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.

Source:
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/not-living-in-a-tent-senior-grateful-for-affordable-apartments-2757801/

At a residential substance abuse treatment center like Reno’s The Empowerment Center (TEC), clients and staff devote themselves completely to the hard work of turning around lives devastated by drugs and alcohol. Graduation from TEC’s intensive five-month recovery program is a tremendous accomplishment, but one that can easily be undone when graduates bump up against another big challenge: finding a safe, affordable place to call home in an area where rents have doubled in the last 10 years.

"We pride ourselves on providing better lives for the individuals we serve, strive to make our community better, and are proud stewards of the financial support, including our AHP grant, that has made all of this possible," said Roxanne DCarlo, Executive Director, The Empowerment Center.
​
TEC’s Marvel Way Apartments is designed as an alternative to having individuals in recovery, and their families, leave residential or transitional housing only to return to the toxic environments where alcohol, drug abuse, and domestic violence were part of their daily lives. Modeled after successful recovery-focused affordable housing projects in other states, it’s the first in Nevada to provide long-term permanent housing with critical support services delivered onsite, including 12-Step meetings, job training, life skills coaching, and referrals to local service organizations.

The love that went into creating this place, it’s amazing. 
 Resident Sarah Berdu

Richard Brown is TEC’s director of housing services and a source of support for living sober. “No one gets in here until they meet with me,” Richard says. “They have to test for me, and if it’s not negative, I refer them to a program where they can get clean, and then they can come back and reapply.” Richard comes from his own recovery background; he understands the particular challenges many of the Marvel Way tenants are experiencing. Rule following, he notes, is not necessarily part of the skill set people arrive with, and there are some who are receiving a key to their own front door for the first time in their life. “If you’re 40 or 50 years old, how do you do that?"

Sarah
Sarah Berdu, 40, had eight years of sobriety before a domestic violence situation led her back to drinking as a trauma response. Then, “I went to detox and got free,” Sarah shares. After completing TEC’s residential program and regaining her lost sobriety, “I was endlessly looking for a place to live and thought I might have to go to a shelter without my pets,” she says. But she was determined to break her destructive old patterns and wanted to be around people who would build her confidence, and to be part of a community that she could trust. “I go to the office, and Richard is there,” she says, “It’s really cool to see his journey, he gets it.”

Sarah appreciates how responsive TEC is to the needs and input of residents. “They’re open to hearing us, like about what’s working and not working,” she explains. The fact that this is new community and a new model for permanent sober living means everyone involved has a lot to learn to make it work. “I’m happy to be part of the learning curve,” Sarah says. “You can influence what happens, and the next people will have it a little bit easier.”

She is grateful for the opportunity she now has to be involved in the Marvel Way community. “The love that went into creating this place, it’s amazing,” she says, “There’s nothing like it.” And she’s feeling fulfilled as she sorts though belongings that she doesn’t need anymore, giving clothes and extra household items to women who have less. “It’s where my heart really is and maybe where my next career move could be,” she shares. “Anything that has to do with making sure people have their basic needs met.”

TEC’s Marvel Way Apartments provides a powerful foundation to support life transformations. Partnerships with organizations like TEC are central to our commitment to support underserved communities. 
 Sherri Scott, Sr. Executive Vice President, Pacific Premier Bank

 Heather
“I started using pretty young, 13, with weed, and from there it was gradual, with more drinking and pills,” Heather says. “It was when I started using meth, when I was about 30, that my life went off a cliff.” She reached out for help when she realized that she was creating a very bad situation for her daughters, Lola and Lily. “I told my judge that I was stuck, that I didn’t know how to get out of my addiction.”

A counselor told her that she could get her into a program, that she would get her a bed. She didn’t tell her ex-partner that she was leaving, but he found out when she asked a family member to look after her kids in while she was in treatment. Her-ex tried to prevent her from leaving, but Heather was determined, sending her girls to live with her aunt in California as she started on her recovery journey. She took a deep dive into who she was as a person and learned that what she went through wasn’t her fault, and how to recognize red flags to not end up rock bottom in another bad relationship.

Heather got her girls, now ages four and two, back while completing a residential treatment program run by CrossRoads. When she heard that an affordable apartment complex for people in recovery was being built she felt goosebumps all over her body. “I didn’t care where it was, Heather says. “I knew that’s where I wanted to be, this is where my life is taking me.” The new community offered an opportunity to start fresh. “My girls will love it, we’ll have our own place.” So she was in one of the first people to apply, in person, for an apartment at Marvel Way, sight unseen.

“I’m working on my confidence because I don’t want my girls to ever be in the situation I was in,” she continues. “They love it here, and I’m not going to be afraid to talk to them about addiction and about how they should expect to be treated and loved.” Every morning, Lola and Lila want to stop to see Richard, and when Heather picks them up from school, four-year old Lola announces she’s ready to get home and “just relax.” 

Heather’s dad taught her welding when she was young. She’s gone back to school, at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) across the road and is working in the welding shop as instructor-apprentice on her way to a career as a welding instructor. She’s excited that as an instructor she’ll have the same school hours as her daughters. “Everything is working out great,” she says. “I can do this.”

Noelle
Noelle's daughter, Lark, just graduated from kindergarten; she and her younger brother, Van, are looking forward to a summer full of swimming. Noelle has been sober for five years, driven to get clean by finding purpose in being a mom. She is a third of the way through a Master’s of Social Work program. Therapy that helped her turn her life around sparked her interest in becoming a therapist. “I didn’t have an associate’s degree yet, so I went to TMMC,” she relates. “I had a lot of support, and before I knew it I had my bachelors’ degree, and now I’m in the master’s program. It wasn’t handed to me, but it shows what it means to give people a chance.” 

Living at Marvel Way is what Noelle believes makes it possible to be in school. “And it gives me a big leg up because I was paying $1,700 for something not nearly as nice.” Her rent for a two-bedroom apartment at Marvel Way is only $630. And while she’s in school, she’s cleaning houses on the side, taking advantage of the times when Lark and Van are with their father or their grandparents. “I try to really hustle when they’re not here.” 

Even more than the cost savings, what makes Marvel Way the right place for Noelle is the chance to be part of a community of people who have been where she’s been and are  their lives for the better. Her neighbors are kind to her kids, and protective of them. “This is our safe place. Everyone here is their friend, and someone they can trust,” she says. And while she hasn’t told her children much about her own story yet, Noelle wants her children to perceive that recovery is about resilience, as opposed to something shameful. “Seeing people who are doing their best – that’s a value I want them to see.”

Adding to Housing Supply in Nevada
Nevada’s housing shortage continues to be one of the most severe in the country, and the state continues to be last when it comes to availability of housing for those earning 30% or less of the area median income in their community. Nevada also tops the list for highest percentage of extremely low-income households who are severely cost burdened, meaning the household spends more than 50% of its income on housing costs, including utilities, while 20% of Nevada renter households are classified as extremely low-income.

The Marvel Way project received a $450,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant in 2020 through FHLBank San Francisco member Pacific Premier Bank. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with TEC to help recovering individuals and their families through affordable housing initiatives,” said Sherri Scott, Senior EVP and Chief ESG & Corporate Responsibility Officer at Pacific Premier Bank.

All of the project’s 42 units are restricted to households earning up to 50% AMI, although some unit rents are set low enough to be affordable to those earning closer to 30% AMI. Nine units are also reserved for formerly unhoused individuals and their families and are subsidized with rental vouchers provided by the Reno Housing Authority.

Source (with photos of featured persons and Marvel Way apartments): https://www.fhlbsf.com/community-programs/spotlight/spirit-of-resilience-marvel-way

By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress

A group of about 40 people braved a chilly wind on Thursday morning, November 3, to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for Hafen Village, an affordable housing project set to begin construction on Hafen Lane in Mesquite.

With a backdrop of heavy equipment for earth-moving, a lineup of local, state and federal dignitaries spoke to the small crowd about how the new project would bring the city a step closer to housing affordability.

“It has been a long time coming and sometimes I actually doubted it would ever happen,” said Mesquite Mayor Al Litman. “But it has and Mesquite is ready for it. We welcome this development that will help so many people.”
​
The Hafen Village project is being coordinated by the Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA). The project will include 96 units for working families at, or below, area median income. The units will be attractive apartments with patios and balconies. The complex will feature both indoor and outdoor amenities including a clubhouse, leasing office, playground, dog park and barbecue area.

The project is expected to begin construction immediately and to reach conclusion in mid- to late-2024.

“This project is designed to complement an already wonderful neighborhood,” said Katie Coleman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for NRHA.

Coleman stood in at the pulpit for NRHA executive director Bill Brewer who was in attendance at the event but was unable to speak due to a case of laryngitis.

The five acre site for the project is located on Hafen Lane, just west of the Mesquite Veterans Center and the First Baptist Church building.

Opening the groundbreaking ceremony was an invocation by Pastor Bill Stevenson of the First Baptist Church. In a brief address before his prayer, Stevenson expressed gratitude for the Hafen Village housing project. He related the story of the negotiations that the church had done last year to procure the Hafen Lane site from the City of Mesquite.

“We were excited at that time that God was going to allow us to have this building,” Stephenson said. “But we didn’t realize that He would not only give us a building but He would also give us a neighbor with 95 apartment units. And we said, ‘Boy, He is showing off now.’”

Coleman expressed appreciation to Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak for supporting affordable housing initiatives in the state. She also recognized the Nevada Congressional delegation in helping to procure funding for housing in the state.

Several representatives from that delegation were present at the groundbreaking. These included Hector Lizaola from Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s office, Mahalia Jaramillo of Senator Jacky Rosen’s staff and Mahogany Feaster of Congressman Steven Horsford’s office. Each of these presented a Congressional Certificate of Commendation to the NRHA for its work on the project.

Also in attendance to give some comments was Nia Germa, the Affodable Housing Advocate with Nevada Housing Division.

In his remarks, Mayor Litman said that the project had been long-awaited by community members.

“For a number of years, the city council questioned why we were giving our bond allocation to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority and then receiving nothing in return,” Litman said. “We wonderred why Mesquite kept being left out. Well, not any longer.”

Litman explained that the NHRA works with a consortium of public, private and community partners to fund and provide affordable housing for rural Nevada areas. He added that the Hafen Village project had come into being through a persistent team effort between NHRA and city leaders. Litman specifically named City Councilman George Gault, who had worked hard on bringing the project, and Bill Brewer for his leadership at NRHA.

“With Bill, his team and George Gault working together over these many months, this project has finally come together to make this happen,” Litman said.

Coleman gave some closing remarks thanking the crowd for attending. “I can’t thank you enough for being here today, despite the chilly weather,” she said. “It is all worth it because rural housing is worth it. Our mission is worth it. And it doesn’t happen without the community.”

About a dozen people were asked to join in ceremonially turning over the first shovels full of dirt on the project. These ranged from city officials to construction managers, NRHA representatives and Congressional staffers present.

Source: https://mvprogress.com/2022/11/08/hafen-village-breaks-ground/
See also: https://nvhousingsearch.org/press/articles/New-Hafen-Villiage-Affordable-Apartments-Rural-Mesquite-Nevada.html
​For more photos: https://nvrural.org/hafen-village-apartments-progress-in-mesquite-nev/

One local and one out-of-state multifamily development company announced that they will bring two new affordable housing projects to Northern Nevada.
​
Greenstreet Development Inc. recently broke ground for Vintage at Washington Station, a 205-unit, 55-and-older affordable housing project at 260 Winter St. And Inland Group of Spokane, Wash., plans to build a 290-unit project in Red Rock. It will be Inland’s first project in Northern Nevada.

​Jim Zaccheo, principal and co-founder of Greenstreet Development, said Vintage at Washington Station brings its portfolio of affordable housing projects in Reno-Sparks to around 2,000 units. Its latest project consists of nine studio apartments and 196 one-bedroom, one-bath units. Washington Station is expected to be completed in May 2024.

Zaccheo said Greenstreet felt the downtown core was a prime location for an affordable senior housing project since many seniors living in the downtown area have been displaced in recent years by the demolition of older motels in the area.

“There is dire need nationally for affordable housing, and Northern Nevada – specifically the Reno market – is feeling it,” Zaccheo told NNBW. “There definitely was a need downtown. We took a somewhat blighted site and will transform it into 205 affordable housing units that are desperately needed for seniors. It will be a great addition to the downtown area.”

Washington Station will mirror Greenstreet’s 55-and-over-project Vintage at Sanctuary, which opened earlier this year on Gentry Way and is 99 percent leased. The success of that development had no bearing on Vintage at Washington Station, though – affordable housing projects typically take several years to come together, and balls were in play well before construction was complete at Vintage at Sanctuary.

“We did quite a bit of research on the depth of market and the need for affordable senior housing,” Zaccheo said. “With permitting and zoning, we can’t wait for one project to get fully leased up and search for another or we will be three years out for the next project.

“With Washington Station now breaking ground, we have a couple behind it where we are either in escrow or have plans so we can keep the momentum going. We want to try to solve this (housing) crisis as fast as we can, and we are doing everything we can to try and keep bringing projects to market to satisfy the need for housing for low-income seniors.”

Greenstreet purchased the 2.2-acre parcel at Winter Street from the City of Reno in 2021, Zaccheo said. The company spent the rest of the year demolishing the old buildings at the site and firming up plans for new construction. The site will be developed by Mountain West Builders, which is the general contractor of record for Greenstreet and its development partner, Vintage Housing. The two companies have been development partners for more than two decades, Zaccheo said. Finished projects are jointly owned and managed by FPI Management.

Zaccheo said that many factors have to come into alignment to make affordable housing projects work for the developer.

“That’s why you don’t see a lot of it,” he said. “When you have rents that are close to half of what a market-rate project would yield, there is not a huge incentive for developers to build affordable housing. There also are a lot of government restrictions and time-consuming processes that have to be completed.

“Quite frankly, Greenstreet and Vintage Housing look at it as we are part of the community, and it’s something we need to do. We don’t want to build for just one segment of the population. It is incumbent upon us to try to service as much of the population as we can. Sometimes it is difficult to do, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, out in Red Rock, Inland Group is developing a garden-style 290-unit affordable housing community at the corners of Silver Lake and Red Rock roads just off Highway 395, said Joey Launceford, development assistant with Inland Group of Spokane. Units at Copper Mesa apartments will be restricted to tenants who earn just 60 percent of the area’s median income, which is just over $56,000, Launceford said.

Inland’s business model is to hold its multifamily developments, Launceford noted. The target demographic for the project is working families in the North Valleys, he added.

“We take a lot of pride in being long-term neighbors,” Launceford said. “When we looked at Reno and Nevada in general as a new market to start developing affordable housing, we saw the amount of job growth that has taken place over the last five to 10 years and housing hasn’t caught up with that job growth. Housing costs have also increased so much that we saw a huge need for this type of housing.”

Inland took the 13.5-acre property for Copper Mesa under contract in September 2021 and closed on it last month. The first of four buildings is expected to be completed this coming summer, with full buildout completed by the second quarter of 2024.

Launceford said Inland will use all local subcontractors and seeks to foster closer ties with regional construction firms in advance of its next Northern Nevada project.

“With this being our first deal as developer and builder in Reno, we are definitely looking to build relationships for the next one,” Launceford said. “And as an out-of-state first-time developer, the Reno City Council and Nevada Housing Division made the process successful and streamlined, and we are excited to do more developments in Reno.”

Source: https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2022/oct/31/two-new-affordable-housing-projects-planned-in-reno/

​A new low-income apartment project is scheduled to break ground in downtown Reno, adding a couple hundred affordable housing units for seniors at a time when many residents are struggling with the high cost of housing.

The Vintage at Washington Station will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 18 at its Winter Street location just off Washington and Third streets. Rents will be in the mid-$900 range for studios and a little over $1,000 for one-bedroom apartments, including all utilities.
Once finished, the project by Reno-based Greenstreet Development will add 206 low-income housing units at a prime location.

“It’s downtown so it’s a good location,” said Dane Hillyard, co-founder and principal at Greenstreet. “It’s close to the hospital and seniors can also walk to a lot of places — things like parks and other amenities.”

The project will have many of the same features as another recently completed Greenstreet project, The Vintage at Sanctuary. The Sanctuary uses a modern design, with amenities such as a clubhouse with a kitchen, a fitness center and game room. Each unit also has a washer-dryer built in.

Like the Sanctuary, The Vintage at Washington Station will provide housing for seniors who make 60% or less of the area median income or AMI. The income limit is a key threshold set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for projects in order to qualify for rental assistance such as Section 8 housing choice vouchers. The 60% AMI threshold equates to $35,100 or lower for one person and $83,800 for a family of four in Reno.

About 5% of the units also will be set aside for seniors who make 45% or less of the area median income, which is considered very low income. The requirement was set by the city of Reno as one of the conditions for selling the land to Greenstreet, according to Hillyard.

The 45% AMI units are so deeply discounted that the rent is about the same as the overhead and “almost negative” from a revenue standpoint, Hillyard said. Greenstreet was able to make the project work, however, by working with the city, he added.

“They gave us a really good price on the land to make the deal pencil,” Hillyard said. “I remember that they got some grief for selling it to us below market value so big kudos to the city of Reno for having the foresight to do this.”

Low-income housing continues to be in high demand in Reno-Sparks, which has been gripped by a housing affordability crisis in recent years. The average rent in the area reached a record $1,680 for the second quarter of this year, according to real estate appraisal and consulting firm Johnson Perkins Griffin.

Housing affordability has especially been a controversial issue in downtown Reno, which has seen ongoing debate between the need for development and revitalization through projects such as the Neon Line District and the loss of old motels that served as de facto cheap housing for low-income residents.

The Reno Housing Authority has also been trying to acquire properties downtownto turn into affordable housing, although it has since dropped its bid for the former Sundowner hotel-casino.

Hillyard, whose company developed several affordable housing apartments and continues to operate them, says demand continues to outpace the number of available units.

“The Sanctuary is 100% full and we immediately had a waiting list,” Hillyard said.

Greenstreet decided to focus on seniors for The Vintage at Washington Station because older tenants especially have it tough in the current apartment market, according to Hillyard. Greenstreet’s tenants include many veterans as well as older women.

“Seniors struggle the most,” Hillyard said. 
​
“They may not be able to work anymore or are barely working and on a tight income with Social Security and benefits so they’re really hardest hit. A lot of seniors are also typically by themselves so it’s just a big deal.”

The site for The Vintage at Washington Station has been cleared as of last Friday. Hillyard expects the project to be a two-year build.

Jason Hidalgo covers business and technology for the Reno Gazette Journal, and also reviews the latest video games. Follow him on Twitter @jasonhidalgo. Like this content? Support local journalism with an RGJ digital subscription.

Source: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/money/business/2022/10/08/affordable-apartments-vintage-washington-station-break-ground-reno-prime-downtown-rental-seniors/8208497001/

Low-income seniors and families looking for housing will have an additional option next year at an affordable housing project in Carson City.

The Sierra Flats project broke ground on Butti Way and Airport Road in Carson City on Sept. 1. The project will have 160 affordable housing units and will be completed before the end of 2023.

The project is being constructed under the low-income guidelines set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sierra Flats will cater to seniors and families who make 60% or less of the median gross income in Carson City. Rents will range between $450 and $1,150.

The project by PalaSeek LLP, Oikos Development Corp. and CM Development  is one of a few public-private partnerships for affordable housing in the area. Northern Nevada is seeing a spate of multifamily construction but most have been for luxury or higher-priced apartment projects. 

In Reno-Sparks, for example, average rent reached a record high of $1,680 during the second quarter, according to real estate appraisal and consulting firm Johnson Perkins Griffin. The number is more than double the average rent of $836 during the same quarter 10 years ago.

“The Sierra Flats project will bring much-needed relief to low-income renters in Carson City who have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living here in northern Nevada,” Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell said in a statement. “Public-private partnerships such as this are critical to ensure our community can continue to increase the number of available affordable housing units and create sustainable solutions for our housing crisis.”

Affordable housing is especially an issue in Nevada, which is facing a shortage of 84,000 affordable apartments for extremely low-income renters, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. The state has 20 affordable rentals for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to the organization. 

The Sierra Flats project is receiving funding from the Nevada Housing Division and the 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The housing division is also providing HUD HOME funds as well as National Housing Trust Funds to the project to make rents affordable.
​
“A lack of affordable housing impacts all aspects of us — our health, our happiness and our ability to dedicate ourselves to our families and careers,” said Gov. Steve Sisolak in a statement about the Sierra Flats project. 

“Getting just one more person into a home makes an incredible difference.”

Source: Reno Gazette Journal

PalaSeek LLP, Oikos Development Corporation, and CM Development, which make up Sierra Flats Senior GP, broke ground on a 160-unit Housing and Urban and Development (HUD) affordable housing project in Carson City this week.

Phase one of the Sierra Flats project will include 40 senior housing units and 40 family units with average rental prices expected to be between $450 and $1150. The project is intended for seniors and families whose income is not more than 60% of the Carson City median gross income. 

Average rents in northern Nevada have jumped 89% in the last seven years, from below $900 to $1680, according to the real estate appraisal and consulting firm Johnson Perkins Griffin.

These dramatic cost increases have left Nevadans facing the greatest challenge in finding affordable housing in the nation. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Nevada has a shortage of more than 84-thousand affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters. There are only twenty affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state.
 
“The Sierra Flats project will bring much-needed relief to low-income renters in Carson City who have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living here in northern Nevada,” Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell said. “Public-private partnerships such as this are critical to ensure our community can continue to increase the number of available affordable housing units and create sustainable solutions for our housing crisis.”

Carson City acquired the property for this project in 1960 and directed city staff to request proposals from developers for an affordable housing project in January 2019. The land was conveyed to the Sierra Flats developers earlier this year so construction could begin. 

“Our company was created in direct response to the lack of affordable housing across the country,” Oikos Development Corporation President and CEO Michael Snodgrass said. “We want to provide beautiful, energy-efficient, and sustainable solutions for low-income families and their communities.” 

The project will be built to the rigorous National Green Building Standard (NGBS), which requires independent, third-party verification that a building or development is designed and built to high performance in the following areas:  site design, resource efficiency, water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and operation and maintenance.

Sierra Flats will also include solar power to reduce tenant electricity costs and electric vehicle charging stations. 

"A lack of affordable housing impacts all aspects of us -- our health, our happiness and our ability to dedicate ourselves to our families and careers," said Governor Steve Sisolak. "The work we are doing together is imperative: getting just one more person into a home makes an incredible difference. I'm proud to work with organizations across the State to do this critical work."

Sierra Flats Senior LP is funded through the Nevada Housing Division and the 9% tax credit program.  In addition, HOME funds and National Housing Trust Funds are being provided by the Nevada Housing Division to ensure rents are affordable.
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Sierra Flats is expected to be complete before the end of 2023.

Source: 2 News

A new $76 million housing renovation project will extend the life of 299 affordable apartments set aside for seniors and other low-income Salt Lake City residents.

Construction, which launched Friday, will modernize the dwellings inside two public housing buildings, County High Rise and New City Plaza located near 1960 South 200 East, just east of the Salt Lake County Government Center, and add a one-story breezeway between them.

Officials say it is the largest effort thus far by the county’s housing authority — now known as Housing Connect — to maintain some of the region’s most affordable dwellings available for the elderly at a time when Utah is seeing a dire housing shortage and moderately priced rentals suitable to their needs are in especially short supply.

Janice Kimball, CEO at Housing Connect, said in a statement the project will keep the apartments affordable and accessible for another 30 to 50 years as part of the agency being “deeply committed to our vision that everyone in our community has a safe, affordable place to call home.”
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New City Plaza has, until now, been run by Salt Lake City’s housing authority but post-renovation, the two buildings will come under Housing Connect’s management.

HUD’s $39 million contribution comes via a new demonstration program that essentially lets local public housing authorities leverage their financial resources to reinvest in their housing stock. It requires them to keep the upgraded housing units permanently affordable to low-income residents.
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Under the program — titled Rental Assistance Demonstration, or RAD — the housing will be moved under what is known as HUD’s Section 8 program, the federal government’s voucher program for helping seniors, low-income families and those with disabilities. Existing residents are consulted through RAD before the conversion and are guaranteed the right to occupy the modernized units and to continue to pay 30% of their income toward rent.

So far, the federal program has freed up more than $14.5 billion for capital investments to improve or replace 175,000 rent-assisted homes across the country, HUD said, most of them serving low-income families, seniors and residents with disabilities.

A Lakewood, Colo.-based firm called ej architecture has been selected as the Housing Connect renovation’s architect. Kier Construction in Ogden will be the general contractor.
Announcement of the renovation and preservation of 299 dwellings dedicated to seniors comes at a critical time in what experts say is a widespread housing shortage in Utah and the U.S., one felt acutely by older residents.

The Beehive State has one of the fastest growth rates in the country for people age 65 and older, recently released census numbers show. As the baby boom generation ages and home prices and rents alike continue to surge, among the hardest hit financially are seniors, many of whom live on fixed incomes and often require special living arrangements due to limited mobility.

A 2019 study found that of approximately 277,000 senior households in Utah, nearly 72,000 — or nearly 1 in every 4 — are estimated to be “cost-burdened,” forcing them to spend more than 30% of their total income on housing. In addition, 1 in every 8 senior households — about 8,900 in total — spend half more of their incomes on housing.

And that was before the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which has accelerated price rises in for-sale and rental housing alike in Utah with exploding demand for homes, particularly those accessible for residents earning below the region’s median wage.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune
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Transaction with the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake preserves low-income housing units for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Multifamily Housing today announced that it has closed a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) transaction with the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake at its New City Plaza site. The transaction will preserve 299 low-income housing units, maintaining long term, stable, and affordable housing for low-income seniors and non-elderly disabled residents in Salt Lake County. Through RAD, the immediate and future needs of the project are addressed through the recapitalization, setting the project up for both financial and physical stability over the long-term.
The RAD transaction includes a $39.8 million construction budget ($133,110 per unit) fully financed through:

• Commercial FHA-Insured Mortgage Loan
• 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits
• HOME Funds

Currently, the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City and the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake manage two adjacent buildings, the City Plaza and the County High Rise, separately as individual projects. While located on the same parcel, the two buildings have lacked any physical connection between them. Through RAD, the project will convert and renovate the two projects and manage them as one project post-conversion. The City owned property (City Plaza) and the County owned property (County High Rise) managed and owned by the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake will lead to a more efficient management of the two adjacent properties, enabling the Housing Authority to free up more funding up to be allocated towards other residential and affordable housing capital needs.
This project preserves much needed affordable housing in in downtown Salt Lake City, enabling residents to have access to affordable housing in an area close to jobs and opportunities. It will add a new one-story connecting breezeway to create a unified senior community in which residents have ease of access between these buildings. Additionally, all units will be updated with wiring for broadband during the rehabilitation. Finally, the rehabilitation will include important health and safety updates, including generators and access systems, unit and common area modernization, and other building and unit upgrades.
About RAD
RAD was designed to help address the multi-billion-dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance in the public housing portfolio and to stem the loss of affordable housing that could no longer be kept to decent standards. From the program’s inception through June 1, 2022, the Rental Assistance Demonstration has facilitated more than $14.5 billion in capital investment to improve or replace nearly 175,000 deeply rent-assisted homes, most of which house extremely low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
Under RAD, projects funded under the public housing program convert their public housing assistance to project-based Section 8 rental assistance. Under Section 8, residents continue to pay 30% of their income towards rent and the housing must continue to serve those with very low and extremely low incomes, as was the case when the property was assisted through the public housing program. Residents must be notified and consulted prior to conversion, are given a right to return to assisted housing post-construction so that the same tenants can enjoy these newly preserved and improved apartments and maintain the same fundamental rights they had as public housing residents.
RAD Resources
More programmatic information is available at the RAD website. Data on RAD is available at the RAD Resource Desk.
View photo essays and read case studies where RAD is working to successfully preserve and improve public housing for low-income families.
Watch an educational video for public housing residents or those new to the RAD program.

Source: HUD.gov