The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) of the City of Houston has released the Houston/Harris County Permanent Supportive Housing RFP for supportive housing gap financing. This is part of the initiative to create 2,500 new supportive housing units in order to end chronic homelessness in Houston by 2016. All applicants should have a comprehensive service plan. Click here to view the complete application.
Available funding includes (1) HOME Investment Partnership: $5 Million, (2) Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO): 15% Set Aside, (3) Harris County HOME Funds: $1.3 Million, (4) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds: $3.5 Million, (5) Homeless and Housing Bonds: $6 Million, and (6) Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Funds: $5 Million.
Eligible activities include:
- New construction of properties of 64 units or more (smaller properties may be considered)
- Rehab or demolition and reconstruction of multifamily properties of 64 units or more,
- Demolition as part of rehabilitation and reconstruction which will serve to reduce density
- Acquisition of multifamily properties or of land for multifamily properties: Again the focus is on housing the homeless, and
- Project‐related soft costs may be awarded on a limited basis and will be at the recommendation of staff and based on need
General eligibility requirements include:
- The project site must have a City of Houston address to qualify for City of Houston and Houston Housing Authority subsidies
- The development team must have a proven track record of successful construction and/or rehabilitation of multifamily housing, and to assess and execute the required rehabilitation/reconstruction of the property.
- Applicants must agree to use the Coordinated Access System developed by Houston’s Continuum of Care as the referral source for the PSH units.
- Organizations must not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, color, creed, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or Veteran’s discharge status.
- Applicants must agree to operate projects under the “Housing First” model. Prospective tenants are not required to agree to participate in services prior to entering the housing nor can service participation be a requirement of tenancy.
Applications are due to the City of Houston by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2014. Since applications will be reviewed and possibly awarded as received, there is a possibility that funds will not be available for the later applications.
