The Cheapest Housing Is The One Already Built

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/08/got-an-affordable-cr_heap_housing-youve-already-got/497234/?utm_source=nl_link1_082616

Already built affordable housing
citylab.com

Hello Everyone:

It is Monday and time for a fresh week's worth discussions.  On Wednesday, yours truly will be live blogging from the final presidential debate, which takes place on the campus of the University of Las Vegas, Nevada.  However, today Blogger wants to talk about one of the least glamorous issues on the campaign trail, the affordable housing crisis.

Finding affordable housing in the United States has reached crisis level.  To wit, there is not one a single county within the U.S. with sufficient housing units for everyone.  In her CityLab article, "Got an Affordable Housing Crisis?  Save the Cheap Housing You Already Have," Tanvi Misra writes, "Constructing more housing is important...but we can't just build our way of the problem..."  True enough.  Sometimes the best and more cost effective approach is to "...simply preserve the existing affordable housing stock, instead of allowing it get swept away by development."

In a new research brief published by the Urban Institute, Preserving affordable housing: what works (http://www.urban.org; date accessed Oct. 17, 2016), co-author and research associate Mark Treskon says,

There's a big discussion about affordable housing out there, but the issue of preservation...it's not always as sexy as new construction...It can get a little bit lost in the shuffle.

The Mac Arthur Transit Village under construction, 2014
San Francisco, California
sfchronicle.com

If you are like yours truly and live in a city where rents are through the roof, then you will appreciate the fact that need to save existing affordable housing units is growing more urgent by the day.  Ms Misra writes, "According to a previous analysis [Ibid] by the Urban Institute, there are only 28 affordable units for every 100 renter households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income."  Shocking is it not?  According to the new UI brief,

Between 2001 and 2013, the U.S. housing market saw the disappearance of 2.4 million affordable units-both subsidized ones and market-rate units that households earning 50 percent of regional median income can afford.

This staggering loss is keenly felt in strong housing markets like Los Angeles, but it has also been observed in weaker markets ...where neglect and deterioration threaten affordable units... (Ibid)

Rental Assistance infographic
kitsapsun.com

Architect Carl Elefante once said "The greenest building is indeed the one already built." (http://www.thecraftsmanblog.com; date accessed Oct. 17, 2016)  This aphorism is never truer then when it comes to preserving existing properties.  Preservation does offer significant advantages.  It can be more cost effective (i.e. cheaper) than new construction, consistent existing land use, and not as likely to cause displacement for residents.  As great as this may sound, there are obstacles.  The biggest of these obstacles is putting together the money to finance and maintain these projects.  Mr. Treskon told Ms. Misra,

In a strong housing market, they are in competition with market-rate developers, who often have capital available and can put together their funding pretty quickly...That's a challenge-some developments are very large and cost million and millions of dollars.

However daunting coming up with the financing can be, Mr. Treskon and his colleague co-author Sara McTarnaghan assembled six case studies from around the United States that successfully saved existing affordable stock.  This is how it was accomplished:

Vida Lea Mobile Home Park
Walterville, Oregon
vidalea.coop

It's not just about buildings

When we think affordable housing, we think actual buildings but in rural communities, mobile housing or "manufactured housing" are a tremendous resource.  As good a solution as it seems, the problem with mobile housing is that residents seldom own the land their home is parked on.  Tanvi Misra reports, "That's not the case at the Vida Lea Mobile Estates in Leaburg, Oregon.  The owner of this 33-space mobile home park for senior citizens sold the property to some residents, who then converted it to a Resident Owned Community (ROC).  According to the UI brief:

A new hybrid homeownership and rental model, a ROC lets residents purchase and control their park, managing infrastructure, operations, and common areas.  Members one their homes and rent empty spaces to generate revenue that covers debt service and operating expense.  (http://www.urban.org; date accessed Oct. 17, 2016)

This ownership model, assisted by local law and funders, allowed residents to maintain and improve their homes and community, "spending $275,000 on infrastructure repaired like sewage system and driveways and amenities like laundry machines and common areas." 

Random abandoned building
abandonedamerica.com

Vacant buildings can be resources, with a little local help

Vacant buildings are an eyesore.  They bring down property values and attract dubious individuals.  That said, with a little attention vacant buildings can be transformed into sources of affordable housing.  For example, in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, there was a large vacant mixed-use building.  The building had been empty for twenty when, in 2012, a potential buyer was referred to the Chicago-based Community Investment Corporation, which finances community development.  With their assistance, the new owners re-made the building into a residential, commercial, and community space for at-risk youth.

Federal housing subsidies, like the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program are of great importance to preservation initiatives.  Tanvi Misra adds, "But this case study is one of the many in the UI sample that demonstrates how useful local and state resources can be for financing such projects."

Monseñor Romero Apartments
Washington D.C.
popville.com

Leverage local policy

In 2008, a fire burnt down the Monseñor Romero Apartments in the Washington D.C. neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant, displacing the residents.  Not long after, the resident made use of a convenient local policy-the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act-to reclaim their homes.  This local ordinance requires building owners to give the tenants the right to buy their properties before offering it to other buyers.  The Monseñor Romero used this right in two national housing nonprofits with the ability to put together funds, those organizations were to buy the  buildings for the tenants in 2010.

Ms. Misra writes, "Most of the low- and middle-income Hispanic residents now have moved back to these apartments, which are located in a bustling neighborhood with Latino groceries and public transit."  Mark Treason adds,

the case demonstrates how a lot of preservation efforts work well in areas were local policies "allow residents to be able to come to the table and get a fair shake."

Putnam Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
cambridgema.gov

Collaboration is better than competition

Sometimes the best approach to preserving existing affordable housing stock is to get the original owners (or sympathetic ones) to be a willing participant.  This was the case with the Putnam Square Apartments in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This building was designated for elderly and disabled tenants, built and formerly owned by Harvard University.  It was purchased by Homeowner's Rehab, Inc. a housing nonprofit which renovated the building.  Harvard took an interest in the buyer's scheme for the property and continued some funding for residential services.

These case studies present a myriad of solutions for affordable housing advocates.  Mark Treskon noted that despite the different geographic, economic, and political contexts,

...there's some commonality in things that might work...To an extent, it's an uphill battle, but preserving affordable housing carries with it a lot of advantages that builders, as well as lawmakers could really focus on.