CLPHA Press Room

OCHA is Transforming Public Housing to Meet the Needs of Their Oldest Low-Income Residents

Through thoughtful, targeted, and health-focused redevelopment, the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) is helping low-income Oklahoma City seniors to thrive. In new communities around Oklahoma City, OCHA offers independent and assisted living units alongside on-site health care amenities that allow the housing authority’s oldest low-income residents to easily access affordable, comprehensive health care as they age in place. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present an unprecedented threat on the health of all Americans, especially the elderly, and requires us to stay at home as much as possible, increasing housing opportunities for low-income seniors where they can access affordable healthcare right outside their doors is more critical than ever.

Similar to popular retirement communities with continuing care options for residents to move from independent to assisted living, OCHA’s latest project Thrive on 10^th will offer both types of apartments plus an on-site healthcare campus comprised of a wide array of medical and wellness services. The senior assisted living facility (ALF) will replace the housing authority’s existing The Towers senior independent living apartments in downtown Oklahoma City with 176 independent and 142 assisted living apartments. Having both types of units on one new site will allow OCHA’s more self-sufficient senior residents, when necessary, to easily move into housing that meets their evolving needs and physical abilities without having to leave their community. “Combining independent and assisted living in one building allows us to take care of residents, keep them in their downtown homes, and create an ‘urban care campus,’” said OCHA Assistant Executive Director Ian Colgan in an interview with CLPHA.

Aerial View of Thrive on 10th's future location near downtown Oklahoma City

OCHA estimates that the Oklahoma City market can utilize approximately 400-500 units of affordable assisted living, and Executive Director Mark Gillett believes OCHA is well-positioned to address the deficit. “OCHA has the capacity and responsibility to ensure low-income seniors have a nice place to call home,” said Gillett. “Assisted living is not affordable for many public housing residents and when they are no longer able to live independently, they often transition to a nursing home. We wanted to provide an affordable assisted living option.”

OCHA is partnering with experts in the field to help furnish senior care services at Thrive on 10^th – the housing authority credits developer Tom Langdon, who partnered with ALF provider Healthmark on similar communities in Arkansas, for bringing this model of affordable senior housing with on-site healthcare to OCHA. OCHA will connect with local health care providers to help build the medical clinic and partner with a special-purpose management company for property operations. Thrive on 10^th will also include commercial space, and Colgan said that OCHA hopes to house a restaurant onsite that would create workforce development opportunities for public housing residents.

When completed in 2022, Thrive on 10^th will be OCHA’s third of four ALFs it plans to operate in the north, south, east, and west parts of town. The first iteration of OCHA’s model of combined senior housing and on-site health care services is John H. Johnson Care Suites, named for a former OCHA executive director, on Oklahoma City’s north side. In addition to 120 assisted and 10 independent living units, the community offers a medical clinic, a pharmacy, and a wing for skilled nursing and memory care. OCHA has also developed partnerships with private market senior care facilities nearby to broaden health care access for their residents.

Even through the COVID-19 pandemic OCHA has been leasing up Johnson Care Suites, and their successful COVID prevention plan has resulted in zero cases at the site. Mr. Gillett noted that across OCHA’s portfolio of nearly 4,000 units, there has been a very small number of self-reported cases of COVID-19 among residents – a major feat for a PHA in the middle of a state hit hard by the pandemic.

Johnson Care Suites

OCHA’s new senior- and health-focused communities are part of the housing authority’s larger transformation plan. In the next few years, OCHA plans to utilize tools like RAD to reposition its entire portfolio, rehab its existing 3,000 public housing units, and add hundreds of units of permanent supportive housing and workforce housing.

But OCHA is trying to think beyond portfolio conversion, noted Colgan. Their strategy includes renovation, redevelopment, and strategic thinking about their communities and the needs of their residents. OCHA is focused on transforming their existing properties into neighborhood assets and expanding resident services within them, and they want to create housing communities in neighborhoods with better schools, job prospects, and other important services that will help improve their residents’ life outcomes.  “We want to expand housing opportunity and put units in higher opportunity areas,” said Colgan.

OCHA plans to finance this massive transformation plan with funds from Oklahoma City’s MAPS 4, a debt-free public improvement program funded by a penny tax approved by voters in a December 2019 special election. Once MAPS 4 takes effect in April 2020, the housing authority plans to use nearly $50 million from the program to leverage over $400 million in outside funding for their portfolio repositioning. This MAPS 4 funding will help finance OCHA’s future senior assisted living/on-site health care communities.

Colgan emphasized that now is the time for transformation while Oklahoma City’s rents are relatively affordable compared with other American metropolitan areas consumed by the affordable housing crisis. OCHA is motivated to make smart business and development decisions to preserve affordable housing opportunities in the event that rental affordability in Oklahoma City skyrockets.  “We want to be active, not reactive,” said Colgan. “If we can plan ahead, we can provide housing supply in a more strategic manner.”

Through new senior properties with co-located health care services, OCHA is doing just that. By offering their oldest low-income residents a continuum of care usually only accessible to wealthier senior citizens--a mission made even more critical by the COVID-19 pandemic--OCHA is reimagining what public housing looks like in Oklahoma City, and this is just the beginning.

From REBusiness Online:

The Fallon Co. and Inlivian have unveiled plans for Centre South, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood.

The 16.2-acre site will feature 330,000 square feet of office space, a hotel, 750 residential units and 145 affordable housing units. The developers expect to break ground on Phase I, which will comprise 310,000 square feet of office space, in 2021.

The project was formerly named Strawn Cottages and announced in 2016, but plans have changed dramatically since that time. Development costs are expected to be in excess of $400 million, according to the developers.

Inlivian, a nonprofit real estate holding company, will develop the affordable housing units, which will be reserved for residents earning 60 percent and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The locally based organization reports that as of April 2020, that was between $45,120 and $60,150 for a family of three.

With construction at Centre South set to begin, we are proud to join the Fallon Co. in bringing to life our vision of creating a dynamic, healthy community of choice that provides quality housing for families with diverse incomes,” says A. Fulton Meachem Jr., Inlivian president and CEO. “The housing options made available at Centre South provide families with more choices along the housing continuum — from affordable rental to homeownership.”

Read REBusiness Online's article "Fallon, Inlivian to Develop 1.4 MSF Centre South Mixed-Use Project in Charlotte."

From the Toledo Blade:

As Toledo Public Schools prepares to reopen its doors to students, community agencies and district officials have teamed up to open community learning centers that will help combat issues associated with virtual learning and a lack of resources as a result of the pandemic.

TPS officials and community leaders announced Thursday the launch of its first learning center at the Tabernacle Church at 531 Pinewood Ave.

Calvin Sweeney, the church’s pastor, said he is proud to be a part of a collaborative effort that will help families navigate the challenges of remote learning.

“This means that we get the chance to be a good neighbor,” he said. “We’ve already encountered grandmothers and parents who are struggling with remote learning and are frustrated. We have people waiting for Monday’s launch, so this is going to help a lot of kids.”

...

Brian Murphy, the Toledo schools’ transformational leader of strategic management, said the district-wide centers will offer students a chance to receive resources — including tutoring, food services, and mental health services — as families continue to adjust to the pandemic’s effects.

“We know that while many of our students are remote learning, they are missing out on the impact that strong adult mentors can have on their learning and development,” Mr. Murphy said. “Our community is again stepping up to help us meet the needs of our students, and provide them with the tools and resources they need to be successful.”

Each community learning center will serve as a hub for students to complete their virtual instruction during school days designated for remote learning.

...

The centers are a collaborative effort between the district and community partners including the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority, Junior Achievement, Pathways for Successful Leadership, RFS Behavioral Health, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the United Way. 

Read the Toledo Blade's article "Community groups, TPS team up for learning centers," featuring the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority.

From the Toledo Blade:

The Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority has extended its Home to Stay program, which provides additional assistance to financially vulnerable residents, for another year in hopes of keeping people housed while the coronavirus pandemic continues and cold months lie ahead. 

The program, which is a partnership between LMHA, the Lucas County Department of Jobs and Family Services, and the Northwest Ohio Homeownership Development Association, allows eligible residents and families exiting homeless shelters to receive up to $1,200 to use for past rent that’s due and $1,000 in assistance toward a first month’s rent. 

The program, which has $139,000 to spend, is funded by the county. The extension of Home to Stay, which began as a pilot program, is for another year, expiring in September, 2021. 

“We need to be sensitive and we need to be always looking for ways to serve with a sense of compassion for the people,” Joaquin Cintron Vega, the housing authority’s chief executive officer and president, said Tuesday. “That’s why we’ve extended the waiver as it relates to evictions, that is why we have also authorized into consideration for the repayment agreement to  be more flexible. We are implementing things that can result in people not getting evicted.” 

Read the Toledo Blade's article "LMHA's Home to Stay rental assistance program extended," featuring the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority.

From the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's press release:

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) CEO Tracey Scott, , Alderman Michelle A Harris (8th Ward), Senator Elgie Sims (17th District), and other local and regional leaders today joined MR Properties, LLC for the grand opening of the Montclare Senior Residents of Calumet Heights. The 134-unit, seven-story new construction will provide mixed-income housing and first-class amenities for independent seniors 62 years of age and older on the City’s far South Side. 

"All Chicagoans, no matter their age, income, identity, or ability deserve to have the opportunity to live happy, fulfilled lives in the communities they call home," said Mayor Lightfoot. "The Montclare Senior Residences of Calumet Heights will bring this vision into reality by providing quality, first-class and affordable housing for our seniors during a time when they need it the most. I am immensely proud to partner with MR Development, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on this project, which gives our seniors the chance to live independently and age comfortably with their peers." 

The new Montclare Senior Residences of Calumet Heights consist of 101 one-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom units - all units are adaptable to different mobility needs, 14 are accessible and three units are designed for the sensory-impaired. Building amenities include a community room with warming kitchen, fitness center, media room, library, computer lab, beauty salon, centralized mailroom and laundry. Exterior amenities offer landscaped recreation areas, walking paths, a gazebo and a large patio for residents.   

“Today is a great day for the 8th Ward,” said 8th Ward Alderwomen Michelle A. Harris. “This facility will be instrumental in providing housing for independent seniors in a place that offers first-class amenities to keep them healthy and safe and engaged with others.” 

The Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA) Property Rental Assistance (PRA) program, which works to increase high-quality, affordable housing opportunities in healthy and revitalizing neighborhoods throughout the City of Chicago, has provided subsidies for 34 of the one-bedroom units to support tenants from CHA waitlists. 

“The investment in housing means that Chicago seniors are able to remain in the community of their choice,” said Tracey Scott, CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority. “For CHA, we are fulfilling our mission of keeping housing affordable. Ultimately, we are here to invest not just in bricks and mortar, but to invest in people. That is our mission.” 

Read Mayor Lightfoot's press release.