Two nonprofit organizations and a soon-to-be-created investor-based limited liability corporation (LLC) are partnering to create a permanent supply of affordable housing and community stability in Vancouver.
The project, known as the "Affordable Street of Dreams," will include more than half a dozen neighborhoods as part of the city of Vancouver's Fourth Plain Corridor Revitalization Task Force.
The partnership includes Southwest Washington Community Land Trust (SWCLT), Americans Building Community (ABC) and a yet-to-be-finalized LLC that will offer investors a guaranteed six percent return, according to Mark Maggiora, ABC's executive director.
By establishing permanently affordable housing through a blend of long-term community control of land, attractive investment opportunity, individual security and equity of home ownership, Maggiora hopes to decrease overall resident turnover in target neighborhoods and increase neighborhood social and economic stability. Most importantly, he said the project will provide an opportunity for home ownership to those who otherwise might never be able to afford one.
A home renovation project on Nicholson Road in Bagley Downs is the first formal project for the SWCLT/ABC partnership. Slated for occupancy in March, the home's renovation is only the first step. The second step involves the SWCLT using revenue from the sale of the home to construct six affordable townhomes on the property.
Financed by a federal block grant, the land-lease model ensures ownership of the land remains with the SWCLT, while the eventual home buyer will be able to make a modest profit if and when the home changes hands. Besides renovating or building affordable homes, other uses for land acquired by the SWCLT include helping new businesses get started and agricultural use – all of which could result in new economic growth and job creation in the Fourth Plain area.
The SWCLT is one of four Community Land Trusts (CLT) in the Portland/Vancouver area. And while the CLT concept has existed for about 25 years, Maggiora said the investor-based LLC was a new twist. He explained that it typically takes a land trust eight to ten years to acquire enough property (usually about 100 parcels) to sustain their operations. He hopes the investor model will enable the SWCLT to reach that goal in about half the time.
According to Maggiora, the "Affordable Street of Dreams" model offers benefits to the entire community. First, he said, it puts contractors to work. Even if they only make enough to cover their costs, they may realize a tax benefit from the donation of their time. Second, investors will get a good return on their investment and may also realize a tax credit. Finally, Fourth Plain neighborhood home buyers will have access to permanently affordable housing.
"It's a win-win-win situation," said Maggiora.
