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Praxis consulted to the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County (aka Housing Connect) on this innovative preservation of 299 units of public housing. The original project consisted of units from both the city and the county housing authorities, and was combined into one transaction. Praxis has worked with Housing Connect since 2016.  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.” 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.  The renovation will pump an estimated $133,110 into improvements for each apartment after years of delayed maintenance, officials said. Each living unit will get an updated floor plan, fresh carpets and paint, new cabinets and appliances, and will be wired for high-speed internet access. The overhaul also aims to improve health and safety in the housing with new power generators and an improved access system. Managers say the project will help unify and create a better sense of community among residents in the two buildings by linking them with the new breezeway and upgraded common areas. Shantae Goodloe, a spokesperson for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is kicking in $39 million for the project, said the work would shift the two housing complexes away from a history of deferred maintenance and deterioration “to a stable and sustainable trajectory.” “Over the years, HUD has seen many public housing units lost from the affordable inventory due to deterioration of the property,” Goodloe said. “To preserve properties for the long term, they need periodic investment.” The project also draws funding from a Federal Housing Administration loan in addition to federal low-income housing tax credits and a HOME housing grant from the state.  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.
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 Praxis consulted to the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County (aka Housing Connect) on this innovative preservation of 299 units of public housing. The original project consisted of units from both the city and the county housing authorities, and was combined into one transaction. Praxis has worked with Housing Connect since 2016.  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:
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 Praxis consulted to the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County (aka Housing Connect) on this innovative preservation of 299 units of public housing. The original project consisted of units from both the city and the county housing authorities, and was combined into one transaction. Praxis has worked with Housing Connect since 2016.  SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Officials with Housing Connect, Salt Lake County’s housing authority, broke ground Friday on a project to renovate 299 units of deeply affordable housing in Salt Lake City.
The project consists of renovating two public housing buildings, New City Plaza and County High Rise, at 1966 South 200 East. It’s the largest of Housing Connects recent efforts to maintain the number of affordable units in Salt Lake County. “It’s really important that we are able to keep these units, these affordable units, because there are not many units on the market that serve extremely low-income households,” said Janice Kimball, CEO of Housing Connect. Kimball said public housing units across the country can be old and outdated. She said there’s often not enough government funding to maintain such units and they can eventually be lost to demolition. “What happens is you don’t have enough money to make the repairs that you need and at some point you’re not able to keep the building safe,” she said. Until recently, City Plaza and County High Rise were managed separately by Housing Connect and the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City. As part of the renovation, Housing Connect will now own and manage them as one property. Each unit will be renovated and include a new layout, cabinets, appliances, carpet, paint, and wiring for broadband internet. The rehabilitation will also provide health and safety updates, including generators and access systems and common area modernization. The renovation will be done in stages. About a quarter of residents have been moved to different housing so work can begin on empty units. Once those are finished, a certain number of residents will move into the new units and the process will repeat itself. Officials expect the project to take a little less than two years. Source: KUTV |