Voters in Vancouver, Washington, recently approved an Affordable Housing Fund to address the lack of housing in the community. The city recently received 16 applications for these funds.
The projects requesting assistance support the acquisition or construction, and subsequent rehabilitation, of multifamily housing units for those currently homeless, or who have low-income status.
The fund was first approved in 2016, and in 2017, it granted $5.61 for various rehabilitation and housing projects, which resulted in 20 existing units being rehabilitated, and approximately 237 new units for rent being created.
Peggy Sheehan, the manager of Community and Economic Development programs for Vancouver, said city officials were excited that the number of applications has doubled this time. For the first time, for-profit developers also applied for help this year. Agencies developing housing like this can use brochure printing to explain the properties' amenities.
The current funding level makes $6.04 million available in total. One of the projects requesting funding is the America for Veterans Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that wants to build a complex called ‘Veterans Village’, which would provide eighteen units for veterans. The cost for the effort is about $1.7 million.
Another is named the ‘Community Roots Collaborative Development’, that would be built by the Community Roots Collaborative. This effort would cost just over $1m, and provide ten units for those who are currently experiencing homelessness.
The Vancouver City Council will decide which projects to fund in January 2019.
