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Manchester, Vermont has always been a hot spot for vacationers and second home owners but a new initiative aims to make living in Manchester more attainable for first time homeowners.

Nail by nail, members of the Manchester community are volunteering their time and creating new opportunity for a local family.

“The concept of housing being affordable has been a huge issue in this community for many years,” said Lee Krohn, Manchester’s Town Planner.

In Manchester, where the average home price is over 400-thousand dollars, many who work in the town can’t afford to live there

“Our goal is to live, work, send your kids to school — all in Manchester,” said John O’Keefe, Manchester’s Town Manager. “We don’t feel that the jobs that we attract should allow you to work in Manchester but have to live somewhere else.”

And thanks to Habitat for Humanity, 22 new homes will be constructed completley by volunteers in a neighborhood that will meet state requirements for planned affordable housing developments. The one being built now is the first home of what will be the largest Habitat community in New England …

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In the midst of news about the Occupy Wall Street movement and cleaning up after Irene, one news item almost got lost in the telling. The news that the Obama administration cut a critical, long-term care ini­tiative from its health care reform plan is alarming at best and devastating at worst. While we all ac­knowledge the rising costs of health care, our most vul­nerable populations are hardest hit by the constant cutting of these basic serv­ices …

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The new loan provided by VHFA for $13.265 million is the largest in the Agency’s history. The new loan is being used to pay off existing debt and to finance $5.2 million in improvements, including new roofs and boilers, weatherization, and some kitchen and bathroom upgrades. The weatherization and new boilers are expected to reduce the cost of heating for residents.

These apartments overlooking Lake Champlain in Burlington’s New North End are unique in several ways. Northgate is owned by New Northgate Housing LLC, which is comprised of the Northgate Residents Ownership Corporation, a resident-controlled organization. Northgate is also the largest single subsidized apartment development in the state, with 336 units of housing, and is perpetually affordable, by virtue of a Vermont Housing & Conservation Board Housing Subsidy Covenant.

Northgate is truly a mixed-income, diverse, multi-generational community. With incomes of 30% through 95% of area median income, Northgate’s 1,000 residents are from Vermont and 14 countries, Its longest standing resident moved in 40 years ago, and residents range in age from 1 to 95. A full time on-site youth services coordinator offers popular, successful programs.

Northgate’s financial restructuring involved many legal and financial complexities. A nearly $6 million HUD loan came due and a restructuring proposal needed to be reviewed and approved by HUD. In addition, a capital needs assessment outlined a scope of work that required more resources than the project’s existing reserves. Further complexities involved transferring the ownership of the ground lease, combining two HUD projects into one from an operating and financing basis, and completing a market study required for HUD’s approval of a new rent structure to service the new debt (while maintaining affordability). Finally, the financing needed to be structured in a way that complied with requirements of the U.S. Treasury’s New Issue Bond Program in order to obtain low 4.5% fixed rate financing.

The vision of several key players 18 months ago, including Phil Holmes in HUD’s Manchester office who died in a tragic accident in July, and the tenacity since then of VHFA, Maloney Properties Inc. (Northgate’s management agent), and Northgate Residents Ownership Corporation, and their development and legal consultants led to yesterday’s monumental accomplishments.

Thanks to these individuals and organizations, Northgate will be preserved as a mixed income community, with needed improvements and sufficient reserves to cover future capital needs.

1. Proposal to establish a new Presidentially Declared Disaster Preference.

2. Proposal to open the VSHA Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waitlist to serve households that are eligible for the Presidentially Declared Disaster Preference.

In addition, it is anticipated that VSHA may be able to serve some additional households, with other preferences, who are already on the VSHA Sect. 8 HCV waitlist.

For additional information, call 802-828-3295 (voice); 800-798-3118 (TTY); 800-820-5119 (messages). Equal Housing Opportunity

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Tenant Talk is NLIHC’s newsletter for residents of public housing, assisted tenants, and low income renters and their allies. This issue has information about threats to the National Housing Trust Fund, an interview with a new member of our Board of Directors Ms. Daisy Franklin, and a summary of what is happening around deficit reduction and what advocates can do, plus much more!

If you did not receive this email directly and would like to receive Tenant Talk and/or other information from NLIHC directly, or know of people who should receive information from us directly, contact NLIHC at outreach@nlihc.org or by mail at:

National Low Income Housing Coalition

Attn: Outreach Team
727 15^th Street, N.W.
6^th Floor
Washington, DC 20005