Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY

NOTES | Community Engagement Meetings

May 29, 2019 Public Agencies (Greensboro Housing Authority) Focus Group

Attendees: James Cox, Jaymar Jones, Tina Grey, Sharell Newman

GHA Presentation

• Have properties in each City Council district, all over the city o 20+ sites and 6,036 affordable units • 13,000 people on waitlist • Smith Homes is only site left to transfer to RAD • Reopened on May 1 o

6,077 signed up since then, with a little more than 200 vouchers to issue

• Major obstacles o Tenant side – looking for a unit they can qualify for re: credit, criminal history, look at 5 years but some people’s criminal history goes past o Some landlords say they’ll no longer take section 8, but then they come back o Some tenants with larger incomes, don’t necessarily want to rent on the south side o Not many landlords with tax credit properties, don’t necessarily have a lot that get turned away • Suggestions for handling the infrastructure side of things to get more units • Zoning: have historically been working in sites where already zoned for appropriate development • Smith Homes o LIHTC pre apps expected by Jan 2020 o Just south of downtown o Piggly Wiggly development o Add teen and other community spaces o 350 units will come back online, • Opportunities o Housing financing for Smith Homes o Infrastructure support and financing o Technical advisory o Land use/entitlements o Redevelopment plan inclusion o Permitting o Recreation/open space • 3-4 vacant land sites that GHA is also interested in developing

HR&A Advisors, Inc.

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