CLPHA Press Room

From The Salt Lake Tribune:

Residents in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark community were celebrating Thursday after a row of three blighted houses that neighbors say had become magnets for criminal activity were finally razed.

It was a hard-won victory but a triumph nevertheless in an area that has a disproportionately high number of boarded and vacant buildings but has had a hard time addressing them thanks to a city ordinance that prioritizes preserving such structures.

Ballpark Community Council Chairwoman Amy Hawkins, who watched as the claw began tearing down the buildings, said it was “wonderful” to see an “actual, physical change happening” in the neighborhood.

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The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City, which has owned these houses on West Temple near 1300 South since 2017, has long wanted to send in the bulldozers.

But the agency, which owns dozens of properties around the city, struggled to obtain financing for the 55-unit apartment complex envisioned for the site. Without a viable development plan, city code prevented their demolition.

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Thursday’s demolition was the first step for the four-story apartment complex, which is expected to be completed in April 2021 and will have a mix of affordable and market-rate units marketed primarily to seniors and members of the workforce. The Housing Authority is also planning a partnership with the Utah Pride Center in an effort to attract members of the LGBTQ population, who Nackerman said have faced challenges finding housing in the past.

“We’re going to work hand in hand with them to kind of affirmatively market to the LGBTQ+ community just because we know it’s a discriminatory issue that we can probably help solve,” he said.

Read The Salt Lake Tribune's article "Demolition begins on derelict buildings in Ballpark neighborhood slated to become a 55-unit apartment community," featuring the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City.

From The News Tribune:

Koz Development last year announced it was opening up its Koz on Market to help students find affordable housing.

This year, a second Koz property is launching another program to help more students struggling with finding a place in Tacoma they can afford.

Tacoma Housing Authority and Koz Development on Friday announced Koz at the Dome, 304 Puyallup Ave., has opened 64 of its 152 units to homeless and low-income students attending University Washington Tacoma or Tacoma Community College.

Additionally, the site can serve homeless unaccompanied Tacoma Public School (TPS) seniors 18 or older who are also enrolled at TCC or UWT.

Tacoma Public Schools “identified 53 unaccompanied homeless high school seniors this year,” according to the release.

The school system also has 750 McKinney Vento students — those covered by the federal education program of the same name to assist homeless children and youth.

“On any given night in Pierce County, over 1,000 youth and young adults are homeless without families,” THA said in its release. “Koz at the Dome will give these youth a roof over their head and a second chance at continuing their education.”

Read The News Tribune's article "New apartments ready to help Tacoma students in need of affordable housing," featuring the Tacoma Housing Authority.

From Yahoo! Finance:

Today, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and other luminaries gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first phase of Compass Health’s Broadway Campus Redevelopment, a state-of-the-art regional center designed to bring together a full continuum of behavioral healthcare, primary healthcare and permanent supportive housing services in downtown Everett.

Phase one, slated to open in 2021, will include 82 new units of permanent supportive housing for people with chronic behavioral health challenges, including units available to military veterans and individuals transitioning to the community from Western State Hospital. This project will double Compass Health’s housing capacity in Snohomish County and demonstrates the impact of critical housing protections for at-risk groups, like those championed by Senator Cantwell.

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Funding for the $26 million phase one supportive housing facility comes from a combination of public, private and philanthropic sources, including significant support from Snohomish County Housing and Community Services, Housing Authority of Snohomish County, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Washington State Housing Finance Commission, National Equity Fund, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Coastal Community Bank, Impact Capital, Premera Social Impact, KeyBank N.A. and the Washington Community Reinvestment Association.

Read Yahoo! Finance's article "Compass Health Celebrates Groundbreaking of Phase One of Broadway Campus Redevelopment in Downtown Everett," featuring the Housing Authority of Snohomish County.

From the Seattle Medium:

On Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the rare opportunity for the City of Seattle and the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to partner on transforming 8 acres of property into a mixed-income community near the Northgate Light Rail station. Located in a high opportunity and high displacement risk neighborhood, the property sits next to a city park, near the Northgate Community Center and Library. 

In December 2019, the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) acquired the property located just north of Northgate Mall and the future Northgate light rail station, which will most immediately preserve 211 units of unsubsidized affordable housing presently located on the site. Over the coming year, the City and Seattle Housing Authority will work together to plan for a more dense, connected and diverse community with mixed-income housing and community-serving spaces. This will include community engagement and commitments for investment.  

“Northgate is on the leading edge of equitable growth for our City. This new acquisition and partnership with SHA ensure that we will not lose ground on affordable housing in this high-opportunity community,” said Durkan. “Over the coming years, we will work with the community on long-term planning for a transformational redevelopment, ensuring Northgate remains affordable for the next generation.” 

Read the Seattle Medium's article "City of Seattle, Seattle Housing Authority Announce Partnership To Create New Mixed-Income Community," featuring the Seattle Housing Authority.

From the San Antonio Express-News:

A developer is moving forward with plans to build an eight-story mixed-use project near the La Villita Historic Arts Village downtown.

Dennis McDaniel of Weal Development wants to construct the building on a parking lot at South St. Mary’s and East Nueva streets, across from St. John’s Lutheran Church. Dubbed St. John’s Square, it will include 252 units, ground-floor retail space and a parking garage.

After green-lighting early designs this spring, the city’s Historic and Design Review Commission OK’d a certificate of appropriateness for the project Wednesday, giving Weal Development the go-ahead to begin getting permits and start the construction process.

The developer is teaming with the San Antonio Housing Authority on the project, and 54 units will be set aside for residents making 50 percent of the area median income, said Marivel Resendiz, a spokesperson for the agency.

Read the San Antonio Express-News' article "Commissioners OK designs for eight-story project near La Villita," featuring the San Antonio Housing Authority.