HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAP 2007-01-09 Item 2A - Discussion - Proposed Interurban Court Project
INFORMATION MEMO
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor Mullej1.~ Council
Evie Boyk~man Services
December 22, 2006
PROPOSED INTERURBAN COURT PROJECT
ISSUE: Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) proposes purchasing the Towne and Country
extended stay motel for the purpose of housing homeless vets and homeless adults, both single
and couples who are challenged with mental illness. They are proposing to provide both
extended stay units on the first floor and permanent units on the second floor. There would be
88 units including 7 studios, 74 one bedroom and 7 two bedroom units. This includes 6 units for
service provision. LIHI will partner with Seattle Mental Health who will provide on site
management and services with 24/7 guaranteed response to all clients. Evidenced based
effective practices will offer an integrated approach addressing individual needs to assist
residents on the road towards health and self sufficiency.
BACKGROUND: The proposal is consistent with the King County Ten Year Plan to End
Homelessness. The proposal is also consistent with the Housing First approach which aims to
provide permanent, service supported housing to homeless individuals. Seattle Mental Health
recently received an award from King County for a Housing First Pilot project.
The Town and Country property is located within the RCM Regional Commercial Mixed Use
zoning district. Land uses permitted outright include:
Multi-family dwelling units located above office and retail uses.
Hotels and motels.
Offices.
Outpatient and emergency medical services.
Indoor recreation facilities.
Schools and studios for education and self improvement.
Apartments are not a permitted use on the ground floor, which is why LIHI has proposed to limit
leases to six months on the lower level. This would keep them operating much as they are now
as extended stay units.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS/ALTERNATIVES: LIHI has received a conditioned
recommendation for King County funds. The condition includes the City's support for the
project including matching funds (doesn't need to be cash) in a ratio of I :7. For further detail
see attached Housing Finance program summary and recommendation. The proposal does meet
a need of difficult to serve populations that require comprehensive care management. Often,
without this comprehensive level of support, individuals are unable to meet their own basic
needs, facing multiple barriers to permanent housing. The proposal is also consistent with
Tukwila's comprehensive plan that "encourages a full range of housing opportunities for all
population segments..."
RECOMMENDATION: Discussion at Committee level to be followed by discussion at the full
Council.
Attachments: Housing First description
Housing Finance Program 2006
/
HOUSING FIRST
A Solution to End Chronic Homelessness
What is Housing First? Housing first is an innovative approach to engage and rapidly house
individuals who are homeless into permanent supportive housingl then to provide intensive and
flexible services to stabilize and support housing tenure.
Guiding Principles:
. Everyone deserves safe, affordable housing
. People determine when they are ready to be housed, not the system (no housing "readiness"
standard). People do need to accept responsibilities of being a tenant.
. It is cost effective to provide supportive housing as an alternative to individuals using some of
our most intensive and expensive services (e.g. jail, hospital).
Housing First: Core Principles:
. It's about changing the system, not the person. The major paradigm shift of this model is
how services are provided. They are onsite at the apartment building versus expecting an
individual to show up at an agency for services. Staff are constantly working to engage
residents and are trained in evidence based practices that have been shown to be effective for
hard to serve populations (motivational interviewing, assertive community treatment).
o Tenant choice on accepting clinical services. Servic.es need to be readily available with staff
continually working to engage and build a relationship with the tenants. No participation in
clinical services is required in order to remain housed. Persons may be in early stages of
recovery and chose to continue to use alcohol and other substances. Any direct knowledge of
illicit drug use, especially drug dealing, would result in contact with law enforcement.
. Focus is on being a good tenant. The main emphasis is on safety with interventions on
behaviors that negatively impact an individual or the community. Skill building is essential to
help an individualleam the skills needed to be a successful tenant: managing finances (or
obtaining a payee if needed); handling conflicts with other tenants; and managing the day to
day responsibilities in their apartments.
. Eviction is a last resort. Clinical interventions are attempted to try to exhaust all other
solutions prior to serving a tenant an eviction notice.
. Strength-based model with emphasis on building community. Some of the most effective
PSH projects have designed their space to include community rooms where activities and
shared meals can occur. Peer support and helping individuals feel connected to their
community is an important part of recovery and housing stability.
/"
~ I Permanent supportive housing is affordable housing that has no length oftime restrictions.
SOUTH KING -COUNTY HOUSING FIRST PILOT
Bringing Resources and Best Practices to Meet a Community Need
Who will be served?: This project will help twenty-eight individuals with long histories of
homelessness rebuild their lives. Team members will engage individuals who are homeless in the -
South King County area (streets, under bridges, and in parks) and will rapidly place each person
seeking shelter into supportive housing with intensive, flexible onsite services. We anticipate that
many of the individuals in the project will have multiple needs. Therefore our approach will be to
integrate mental health, chemical dependency and primary health care into a single, comprehensive
team that can addresses their array of health conditions.
New Partnership: To design, fund and oversee the implementation of this project a new alliance was
formed with three key partners:
. King County Housing Authority (KCHA)
. United Way of King County (UW)
. King County Mental Health and Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services System
(MHCADS)
New 'Vay of Combining Resources: Braided Funding Model:
. 25 Section 8 Vouchers
. Public mental health and chemical dependency dollars
. United Way dollars
. 2163 housing and services funding for people who do not meet Section 8 and/or Medicaid
Eligibility (pending approval)
Embracing Evidence-Based Practices2 (includes the following features):
. Assertive Community Treatment: intensive case management (caseJoads not to exceed 1:12)
. Integrated approach to address mental health, chemical dependency and primary care issues.
. Onsite supportive services to help an individual stabilize in order to retain their housing and
move towards recovery.
. Responsive services to the individual, landlord and the community.
. Peer mentors to help engage and support individuals to transition from the streets into
supportive housing setting.
. _ Support and linkage to employment opportunities.
Research Component:
. King County MHCADS will take the lead to design, collect and analysis critical data related to
who is served by this project, their housing stability outcomes and their use of emergency and
jail system pre- and post placement into this project.
Project Operation: Seattle Mental Health has been selected through a Request for Qualification
process to be the lead provider. We anticipate that the project will begin serving individuals by the fall
of2006.
2 The Substance Abuse an~ Mental Health Service Ad~stration (SAMI:ISA) recognizes Assertive Corru:nunity Treatment ~
(ACT), peer mentors, and mtegrated treatment to be eVIdence based practices that have shown to be effective. U
JRC Packet - Attachment 8.5
HOUSING FINANCE PROGRAM 2006
Project Summary and Recommendation
Applicant:
Low Income Housing Institute (L1HI)
Project:
Interurban Court
Location:
Tukwila
Use of funds:
Acquisition/Reha b il itati on
Amount Requested: $2,936,066
Amount Recommended: $750,000
Project Summary:
LIHI proposes to purchase an existing motel in Tukwila and rehabilitate the structure to
provide 82 units of housing (44 pennanent and 38 "extended-stay" transitional housing)
for homeless individuals and households. Sixty-eight units will serve people with chronic
mental illness, and 38 units will be designated for tenants who are veterans. The existing
structure is an extended-stay motel with each unit containing a full kitchen and bathroom,
essentially studio and one-bedroom apartments. The redeveloped site will offer residents
a common area for recreation, meetings, or other community functions. Each unit in the
complex, located directly adjacent to the Green River, has a functional balcony or outdoor
patio looking over a well-maintained grassy court. LIID will add outdoor sitting areas, a
computer lab/employment center, social services offices, and counseling space for Seattle
Mental Health.
Unique Features:
. The project would provide 82 units of housing (44 pennanent and 38 "extended-
stay" transitional) for homeless individuals as early as February, 2008.
. LIHI holds a purchase and sale agreement which expires in February, 2007. The
applicant is willing to purchase the building with a bridge loan and operate as
housing for the homeless until at least February, 2008, pending commitment of all
public funds. The property will be purchased with all rooms furnished and ready
for rental.
Need:
. The lO-Year Plan to End Homelessness estimates that there are more than 5,000
single adults in King County every night, many of whom are veterans.
. The 44 units of penn anent housing are a high priority, while the 38 units of
transitional housing are a lower priority under the King County Consolidated
Plan.
~
File: Alt. 6.5 project summaries.doc
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Final
JRC Packet - Attachment 8.5
. The Consolidated Plan refers to supportive housing as "a critical requirement for
sustaining housing" for vulnerable populations.
Capital Budget:
Source Total Secured Pending
HFP (Includes request $ 5,936,066 $ 5,936,066
for future Veterans
Funding)
State Trust Fund $ 2,000,000 $ 2,000,000
City of Tukwila $ 25,000 $ 25,000
L1HTC $ 5,145,854 $ 5,145,854
~
V A Per Diem Capital $ 700,000 $ 700,000
FHL8 $ 250,000 $ 250,000
L1HI Deferred Fees $ 180,000 $ 180,000
Total $14,236,920 $ 14,236,920
Ratio HFP : Other sources 1.0 to 1.4
Total capital cost per unit $ 173,621
HFP capital cost per unit $72,391
Feasibility:
. Permanent housing for the homeless is a top priority under the Ten Year Plan to
End Homelessness and the project, in terms of the population to be served, is
consistent with Tukwila's Comprehensive Plan and the King County Consolidated
Plan.
. Zoning restrictions would result in 38 units being rented as transitional units with
renewable short-term leases, instead of being permanent or transition-in-place
housing; the Agency will need to resolve this issue, preferably through are-zone
or, at a minimum, a formal interpretation from the local planning director stating
that all units may be used indefinitely as permanent housing under the City of
Tukwila's zoning ordinance.
. LIHI could potentially obtain a tax credit award of up to $2 million more than the
amount indicated in the capital budget, reducing the need for funds from other
public sources, if they applied for tax credits after August 2008. The Low Income
Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) program guidelines allow projects to calculate their
tax credit award based on the value of the land and buildings if the previous
oVvner has owned the land ten years or more. The current owner has not owned
the property for ten years.
. The development budget is somewhat preliminary. The Phase I Environmental
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At\. 8.5 project summaries.doc
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Final
JRC Packet - Attachment 8.5
identified mold issues and condensation on the windows of some units was
observed during a staff site visit. LIHI has proposed remediation of these issues
but the full extent of the problems has not yet been determined by Tonkin, the
project architect.
. Seattle Mental Health would provide case management and mental health services
directly on site. This organization has a proven and successful track record in
providing such on-site services. This project would be Seattle Mental Health's
largest-scale effort to provide services on a single site to date.
. Proposed rents are appropriate for the target population and may be supported by
Seattle Mental Health Section 8 vouchers awarded under the south King County
"Housing First Demonstration Project" and per diem subsidies from the Veterans'
Administration that will support 18 units of transitional housing. Operating
expenses and proposed replacement and operating reserves are reasonable for the
scope of the project.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND RATIONALE
Fund at the reduced level:
$750,000 of Jumpstart Program funds
Funding is recommended because:
. The project meets high priorities for homeless housing established by the CEH
and could potentially provide 82 units of permanent supportive housing in south
King County.
. The project has the potential to meet program criteria for commitment of
Jumpstart funds, which are prioritized for "converting underutilized or problem
properties into safe, affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless
residents" .
Specific conditions under which funding is awarded:
. The Agency must secure either a rezoning ofthe site or, at a minimum, a letter of
interpretation from the local planning director stating that the proposed use of all
units on the site for permanent housing is acceptable under relevant zoning.
. The local jurisdiction must commit to a partnership approach on the project as
described in the Jumpstart guidelines: prioritizing the project and committing
matching funds in a ration of at least 1 to 7; designating the proposed project site
as a problem property needing redevelopment under the program criteria; and
assisting with resolution of the zoning issue in advance of the agency's submitting
applications for further public funding.
. The Agency must demonstrate that they can acquire and rehabilitate the premises
'within the timeline required for the "Housing First Demonstration Project", or
secure other rental subsidies adequate to support the operating costs.
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Alt. 6.5 project summaries.doc
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Final