RRHA receives new, competitive HUD award to redevelop Fay Towers
Richmond Redevelopment
and Housing Authority (RRHA), along with U.S. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby”
Scott, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, and the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development’s (HUD) Richmond Field Office today jointly announced RRHA’s
receipt of HUD’s new and competitive Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to
redevelop RRHA’s 42-year-old Frederic A. Fay Towers senior housing building,
located in North Jackson Ward.
RAD will allow
RRHA and other recipients the opportunity to leverage private debt and equity to
make necessary improvements to distressed affordable housing stock by
converting properties to either project-based Section 8 rental assistance or
project-based vouchers. RRHA is one of only two public housing authorities in the Commonwealth
of Virginia to be awarded by HUD.
“RRHA
is excited about the opportunities that will stem from this unique grant, including
the ability to leverage funding resources to create greater quality, affordable
housing in the City of Richmond,” said Adrienne E. Goolsby, CEO of RRHA. “This is truly a groundbreaking approach
to building strong public-private partnerships. It greatly supports the ongoing
strategic and collaborative efforts of RRHA and the administration of Mayor
Dwight C. Jones to positively transform public housing and grow strong, healthy
and sustainable communities.”
Congressman Scott, who
represents the 3rd congressional district in which the Fay Towers
senior housing is located, added: “I commend the Richmond Redevelopment and
Housing Authority on being awarded one of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's new competitive Rental Assistance Demonstration grants. This new
program will help preserve and improve thousands of affordable housing units
throughout the United States. Right here in Richmond, this new grant
funding will assist RRHA in redeveloping the Fay Towers senior housing
building, improving the quality of life for their residents."
“Building
quality, affordable housing for our community is part of the City’s strategy
for becoming a Tier One City, and to succeed we need to continue to pursue all
available resources to address the issues related to housing options,” said
Mayor Jones. “We are encouraged by the support of the federal Administration’s
decision to award the city this grant, as it aids us in continuing to build
strong relationships with our private sector.”
RAD was officially
announced last summer by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan as a groundbreaking
strategy to preserve tens of thousands of public and HUD-assisted properties by giving housing authorities the opportunity
to convert their current assistance to Section 8 contracts for long-term
sustainability. This conversion enables public housing authorities to leverage
millions of dollars in debt and equity to address immediate capital needs and
preserve affordable housing units. In the process, RAD will help create and
support local construction jobs in and around the participating communities.
"HUD is delighted to work
with RRHA to protect critically needed affordable housing for the residents in
Richmond," said Carrie Schmidt, Field Office Director. "This is a
market-based approach to help RRHA tap into private capital to preserve housing
for some of our most vulnerable citizens."
RRHA’s
physical needs assessment of its public housing stock shows that, over the next
ten years, its approximately 4,000 public housing units will need about $160
million to keep the units in safe and decent condition for families, a figure
well in excess of its projected $64 million in available capital funds over the
same ten-year period.
RRHA
continues to hold community meetings with the Fay Towers’ Tenant Council and the
entire Fay Towers community on improving the Fay Towers building, which was constructed
in 1971 and contains 200 units. The RAD grant will allow RRHA to:
•
Take advantage of additional funds to make substantial
improvements to Fay Towers, including renovating or replacing the entire
building.
•
Convert Fay Towers public housing units into long-term
Section 8 (vouchers) rental assistance units to comply with RAD program
requirements.
•
Offer Fay Tower community members an improved living
environment and more amenities.
Construction on a new
Fay Towers is slated for Summer 2014.
RRHA commits to full, timely communication and community
engagement throughout the entire process. All activities are and will continue
to be conducted in accordance with HUD regulations.
###
About RRHA
RRHA plays a key role in
assuring the City of Richmond's bright future and has been at the forefront of
affordable housing community development for 70 years. RRHA is the largest
housing authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Authority serves
nearly 20,000 community members through its Public Housing and Housing Choice
Voucher (Section 8) programs. RRHA also manages neighborhood redevelopment and
conservation programs throughout the City of Richmond. For more information,
visit www.rrha.com.