Nonprofits’ efforts on affordable housing hit wall as real estate demand goes through roof, supplies dwindle.

Nonprofits’ efforts on affordable housing hit wall as real estate demand goes through roof, supplies dwindle

Demand is high, and supplies are shrinking. Seeing the need for affordable housing in the Capital City, non-profits have jumped into the fray.

But in a real estate market with great demand and dwindling supplies, they are in competition with everyone else for affordable housing.

Members of the nonprofits are praying they find properties to help the community.

But frankly, they may be praying for the same properties.

Finding a home

Landmark Church has operated Stacey’s House, a women’s recovery home, for about a year, Pastor Scott Breedlove said.

A woman in the house was scheduled to graduate last week, but there are no homes available for her.

“She’s done so well. Department of Family Services is like, ‘We want to give you your kids back — as soon as possible — we’re ready.’ She’s struggling to find a place,” Breedlove said. “She’s ready to go.”

There may not be anywhere for her to go.

All the church’s members are looking for a home for her.

One of the first women to leave Stacey’s House and her boyfriend both went through treatment. His treatment was at a different facility. They got out of treatment at the same time. They went through the same struggle to find affordable housing.

The entire church looked for a home for them. An older woman who had a house took a chance on the couple, Breedlove said.

They’ve been living in that home since July and doing well, he reported.

“It took weeks until we found them a place,” he said.

Now, the church is looking for an apartment building it might use for transitional housing.

Like other nonprofits, the church has made some gains in addressing the housing need. But despite that, all local nonprofits’ efforts have largely been drops in the housing bucket.

But new hope is on the horizon, in the form of large-scale developments intended to provide affordable housing.

Jefferson City has access to a lot of federal and state funding because of the tornado and COVID-19, Thompson said.

As part of the city’s application for COVID-19 Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Jefferson City polled 322 residents. The survey was intended to see where residents think COVID-19 funding should go. Survey respondents mostly identified housing and infrastructure as their top concerns for the city.

Between the 2019 tornado and COVID-19, the city may receive or apply for more than $18 million in relief during the next five years. Jefferson City may request up to $2 million just from CDBG.

The demand for affordable housing in the city is widespread, Kiekhaefer said.

And nonprofits are ambitious.

“(Transformational Housing is) looking at more than we could do over the next five or 10 years,” he said. “We’re still trying to formulate a long-range plan.”

That, he estimates, is a year or two away.

“Know that we’re in it for the long haul,” he added.

He said a group went on a field trip to look at multi-unit developments in places like Kansas City. They looked at places that received Missouri Housing Commission tax credits for building multi-unit housing complexes that included mixed economic levels.

Those developments take years to get under way.

Jefferson City has received applications for two similar “affordable developments” — one on the west end of town and one on the east end, according to the Planning Department. Supporters of the projects say they will be “huge additions to Jefferson City.”

Out west, the property known as Jefferson City West Commercial Park is connected to Old Lohman Road. The development is called “Trade Center Apartments” on conceptual plans. It consists of four buildings, one of which is a community building. The other three buildings would potentially contain 40 affordable rental units made up of 12 three-bedroom units, and 28 two-bedroom units.

The development has applied for low-income tax credits. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) distributes millions of dollars in the tax credits. Mayor Carrie Tergin wrote to the MHDC in September and asked it to approve the credits for the development.

“Approximately 76.6 percent of Jefferson City’s workforce does not live in Jefferson City,” she wrote. “We would like to provide the opportunity for people to live where they work.”

On the east side of town, El Dorado Plaza Apartments, 810 El Dorado Drive, would include 48 apartments in two buildings. The buildings (on a 3.7-acre site) would include six four-bedroom units, 18 three-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units. A third building would be for community use.

Tergin also wrote to the MHDC in support of this project.

She pointed out that Jefferson City is in crucial need for lowincome housing and the benefits it provides.

Reporter Michael Shine contributed to this report.