Clark County officials have approved nearly $120 million to support the development of affordable housing in Southern Nevada.
The “historic” funding is expected to lead to the construction of about 3,100 affordable housing units for low-income families and seniors. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “affordable” means tenants are paying no more than 30% of income toward rent, utilities and other expenses like repairs.
With rents and the cost of living having climbed since the pandemic, the need for affordable homes is more urgent than ever. And while it’s good news for funding recipients and the tenants who will eventually move in, Las Vegas and Nevada still have a long way to go.
As of May, the National Low Income Housing Coalition named the Las Vegas metropolitan area as having the “most severe” affordable housing shortage of the 50 largest metropolitan cities in the country. Nevada was also at the top of the list of states with the worst shortages.
County officials estimate a statewide shortage of 85,000 affordable housing units for families earning less than 50% of area median income, which is less than $36,200, according to HUD. Earlier this year, commissioners approved plans to help create 600 apartments for low-income families and seniors.
“We are pursuing long-term solutions to the affordable housing challenges we face in our region to help ensure that more of our residents have a place to call home,” county chairman Jim Gibson said in a statement following the county board’s approval of the funding.
WHEN CAN PEOPLE MOVE IN?
While the county looks into lasting solutions to the dearth of affordable housing supply—including a Community Land Trust and more money for permanent supportive housing projects—the 10 developers awarded the $120 million are working on getting shovels in the ground.
“From a developer’s perspective ... we understand that the need is severe in our community,” says Waldon Swenson, vice president of corporate affairs for Nevada HAND. “We’re doing everything we can to ensure that we’re building responsibly, but also as quickly as possible.”
The nonprofit broke ground in February 2021 on Decatur Commons, a 480-unit development for families and seniors earning 30-80% of area median income. As construction wraps up by the end of this month, the development already has a waitlist of 3,700 people wanting to move in.
It takes about two years on average from the time financing is secured to occupancy, Swenson says. But the time frame can vary, depending on how long it takes to secure other requirements for subsidized housing including zoning and land (which local jurisdictions can facilitate), along with financing.
The federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit, administered by the Nevada Housing Division, is one of the most used and, according to advocates, most important tools for financing development and preservation. (The county’s most recent round of funding was largely gap financing to supplement those tax credits.)
As the state’s largest affordable housing developer (responsible for 25% of Southern Nevada’s market, Swenson says), Nevada HAND was awarded more than $36 million in county funding for more than 600 units spanning over five projects.
Currently, it has more than 900 units under construction or rehabilitation, including family and senior housing. On a sliding scale, tenants pay an average of $733 monthly rent, Swenson says.
Nevada HAND and advocates agree that greater investment in affordable housing programs is needed to make a meaningful impact on the shortage.
“The tools in the affordable housing toolbox—such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credits and long-term rental assistance—do work. They’re under-invested,” Swenson says. “If we can invest in those programs … in an adequate way, we can truly move the needle and start to dramatically close the gap between the need and what we currently have.”
CLOSING THE GAP
At the state level, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced $500 million for affordable housing projects in early 2022. Home Means Nevada, the American Rescue Plan-funded initiative received approval from the state Interim Finance Committee in April for a first round of funding at $250 million.
The Nevada Housing Division, the agency in charge of reviewing applications and recommending awardees to the state, is aiming to have a determination by October on which applications will be funded. “The division has engaged an affordable housing accounting firm to review the financial aspects of the applications for new development and preservation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority (SNRHA) is ready to hear back regarding 20 applications totaling about $300 million submitted to the Home Means Nevada program. The authority manages more than 2,100 public housing units and administers federal programs including Section 8 and project-based vouchers.
In addition to local and state funding to beef up Southern Nevada’s affordable housing inventory, SNRHA Executive Director Lewis Jordan says, increasing the state’s federal allocation of Section 8, also known as housing choice vouchers, is a priority. Unlike development, which can take years, vouchers can help eligible tenants cover rents and thereby provide more immediate relief to those who are struggling right now.
Currently, HUD allocates about 12,500 vouchers on a once-annual basis for Southern Nevada—not enough to meet the need in the region, which has grown exponentially in recent decades, Jordan says.
“We’ve been at that number for quite a while,” Jordan says. “Twenty years ago, the region had about 400,000 people. Now, we have about 2.4 million people in the region that we serve, while we’re still getting 12,500 vouchers to administer … We’ve spoken to a number of folks in [Washington,] D.C., about just examining that process.”
Jordan adds that one of the challenges with housing choice vouchers is making sure landlords will accept them—“an ongoing conversation we’re having with elected officials.
“We’re in the process of developing a more structured landlord partnership where we can offer landlords incentives for them to take Section 8 vouchers and things of that nature,” he says, adding that it will take collaboration with local jurisdictions to make that happen.
Nevada HAND, which provides its own property management for about 8,000 residents, serves as an example of what affordable housing solutions can look like when the whole toolbox is used—vouchers, development incentives, local and state funding and community partnerships.
“Each of our communities has on-site resident services built into the cost of rent,” Swenson says, adding that those services, like internet and computer labs, are intended to connect residents with resources such as pandemic rental assistance and food banks, to help them attain financial stability.
“Over the last three years, 10% of family residents who left went on to purchase their first home,” he says. “Construction and rehabilitation are essential … But when we see success through our resident services moving people to home ownership or market-rate housing, that frees up the unit for someone else who’s in need.”
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