Affordable housing gets boost

A Spokane-based organization recently landed a $4.5 million federal grant that will help build 270 low-income homes in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

Community Frameworks (formerly Northwest Regional Facilitators) will distribute the money among 26 affiliate organizations that build affordable housing.

The money was awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), in which the future owners contribute at least 100 hours of labor — called “sweat equity” — toward construction.

Christopher Holden, Community Frameworks’ director of regional initiatives, estimated that at least $300,000 of the money would be spent on Spokane-area projects. He said the grant is noteworthy because the regional nonprofit is competing against national organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity. This is the largest award Community Frameworks has received through the SHOP program, due in part to its growing number of affiliate organizations throughout the Northwest, Holden said.

“We’re kind of nationally known for being very financially sophisticated,” Holden said. “We’re essentially competing against national groups and usually winning.”

Community Frameworks was one of four organizations nationwide to receive a total of $24.8 million in SHOP grants. The other organizations are ACORN Housing Corporation, the Housing Assistance Council and Habitat for Humanity International, all national in scope.

The SHOP program has managed to survive federal budget cuts that have diminished other affordable housing assistance funds partially because of the requirement that owners contribute labor, said Chris Venne, Community Frameworks’ development finance manager.

“Self-help is very popular,” Venne said. “It’s more of a hand up, rather than a handout. It makes for wonderful neighborhoods when people help build their own homes. The pride of ownership is there.”

Community Frameworks’ HomeStarts program also helps qualified buyers earn a down payment and closing costs and provides access to attractive mortgage rates or deferred second mortgages to insure affordable monthly payments.

Venne said SHOP funds helped build Dishman Commons, a development that includes both low-income and market-rate homes in Spokane Valley. Some 51 single-family and 36 condominiums make up the neighborhood, which is nearing completion. The project was a partnership between Community Frameworks and Greenstone Corp.

Two other projects Community Frameworks is planning will benefit from the most recent round of funding, he said. One, called Greenfield Estates, is a 36-home development in northeast Spokane. The other, near Medical Lake, is a 72-unit mix of low-income and market-rate homes, done in conjunction with a for-profit developer. That development is called Takoda Park.

The grant money is used to buy land and make infrastructure improvements necessary for new construction, HUD said in a news release. Prior to this award, the release said, Community Frameworks has received more than $11 million in SHOP funds, supporting development of 1,021 affordable homes. Community Frameworks provides 10-year, zero-interest loans to nonprofit organizations sponsoring self-help homeownership programs.