Affordable housing gets boost

A pair of area nonprofits is forming a new Spokane property development company.

The Spokane Neighborhood Economic Development Alliance, or SNEDA, is partnering with Community Frameworks, thanks to a competitive $700,000 federal grant they landed last week.

Together, the groups will buy and develop older, multi-story buildings deemed to be in need of improvements and likely located downtown.

Upper floors will be converted to affordable housing. Ground floors will be refurbished for commercial and retail businesses, some of which will available to small companies otherwise unable to pay for such prime locations.

Eric Loewe, executive director of SNEDA, said the grant is the largest the agency has ever received. It comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And it paves the way for the two organizations to advance their shared dream of helping people with strained budgets, he said.

“We have two organizations, one with business expertise and another with affordable housing expertise, getting together to create a model that will mean some people will be able to live and work in the same building, afford downtown housing and have businesses downtown they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have,” he said.

In upcoming months, the partners will firm up plans for their inaugural project, said Linda Hugo, executive director of Community Frameworks. Work could begin sometime next year, she said, adding that attracting further funding from other public and private entities will be critical in finishing each project.

“It’s an exciting concept to be able to do significant redevelopment in Spokane’s older neighborhoods — and to be able to revitalize them is a great thing,” Hugo said.

The new partners are both federally-designated community development financial institutions, meaning they meet stringent guidelines for assisting those with low to middle incomes.