Jefferson City offers $7.3 million in funding for housing recovery

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City hopes to use millions in federal funds to increase its stock of affordable housing as demand increases.

The city was allocated $7.3 million from the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. Funds will be used to support the development of affordable multi-family rental housing.

Much of that housing was destroyed or damaged in a 2019 tornado that ripped through the heart of the city.

According to a 2022 Jefferson City Housing study, 152 units were destroyed and over 4,000 were damaged. Ninety-five percent of the units destroyed were rentals.

The Jefferson City Housing Study says that "as of 2020, 46% of all renter households had incomes at or below $30,700 a year."

Jefferson City's neighborhood services supervisor, Rachel Senzee, said the federal aspect of funding caused the five-year gap between the tornado and this step. Not only did funding have to get passed down from Congress to the state, but officials wanted to take the time in planning to make sure the money was used appropriately.

"it's really important when you're when you're spending federal tax dollars that you don't just throw money at a problem without being a little bit strategic about it," Senzee said. "That's why we take such efforts to go through a planning process so that we make sure that we're putting public tax code dollars in an area that can leverage the greatest good."

The use of funds is organized in a "disaster tieback" throughout the city, not just the areas affected by the 2019 tornado.

"It doesn't have to be in the same location," Senzee said. "Look at it as, 'hey, you lost 152 units, we just want you to try to produce 152 new units in the city or in the county.'"

The city is inviting proposals from developers for affordable multi-family rental projects. Accepted applicants will be able to use CDBG-DR funds as well as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

While there are opportunities for single-family home developments, the program prefers to focus on multi-family homes as it increases the number of units available.

The program is a two-step plan. After applying for the initial CDBG-DR fund, accepted housing developers then have to apply and be accepted through the Missouri Housing Development Commission's application to receive Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Senzee hopes the extra funds will help incentivize developers to speed up construction, increasing the rate of units being put on the market.

"Our funding is grant funds and those can help for those upfront construction costs and then the low-income housing tax credits are tax credits, you don't really have access to those until until it's completed," Senzee said. "So you get one incentive up front and the other one on the back end of the project."

CDBG-Dr applications will be reviewed on a scoring matrix.

After the two applications, developers should expect a final decision in December. A financial and environmental review follows, then construction can begin.

Households eligible to live in the housing must have an income at or below 80% of a community's median income.

Future housing costs depend on location, based on the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's income limits. However affordable housing is classified as equal to 30% of an individual or family's income.

Proposals must be submitted through the city's application website no later than 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 18.

The city encourages all eligible development teams to apply.