AGENDA DATE: 1/19/2022
TITLE:
Title
Southwood Project Manager
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request approval from the Board to use $170,000 from the County’s Housing Fund to fund a two-year, temporary Housing Projects Manager to coordinate activities associated with the Southwood Redevelopment Project.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Dimock, Pethia
PRESENTER (S): Stacy Pethia
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in October of 2016 supporting a collaborative redevelopment process with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville (Habitat) for the redevelopment of the Southwood Mobile Home Village and included Phase 1 of the project as part of its Strategic Plan under Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods.
In January 2018, the Board approved an action plan and authorized the County Executive to sign a performance agreement on behalf of the County in which the County contributed $675,000 to Habitat to assist in its costs to prepare and submit a complete rezoning application for Phase 1 of the Southwood redevelopment project, as well as resident leadership development activities.
A performance agreement was approved by the Board in June 2019 to support up to 155 affordable dwelling units for Phase 1. The County’s contribution within the performance agreement includes up to $1.5 million for construction of 75 affordable units, $300,000 for 80 or more Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and up to $1.4 million over 10 years in property tax rebates.
In addition to the rezoning and performance agreement, the County applied for on behalf of Habitat and was awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) of $1 million to support 20 affordable units within Phase 1. Habitat was also awarded $1.5 million in HUD HOME funds to support the project.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Thriving Development Areas - Attract quality employment, commercial, and high density residential uses into development areas by providing services and infrastructure that encourage redevelopment and private investment while protecting the quality of neighborhoods.
DISCUSSION: Each of the funding streams above is obligated to its own scheduling, compliance, and regulatory requirements. Strong communication about the nuances of the Performance Agreement, as well as State and Federal grant requirements, and coordination of effort between multiple county representatives and Habitat is critical to our collective success. The ability to navigate all of the compliance and reporting requirements of the funding streams will allow Habitat to succeed in reaching its milestones. Delays in reporting or inconsistences reaching compliance measurements for both State and Federal grants could put the County at risk of not being able to apply for future grants. In addition to impacting future funding opportunities, this may also lead to delays in project deliverables.
Since committing to being a partner in this project, several different County employees have worked closely with the Habitat community. These employees have been spread out among different County departments such as Finance & Budget, Social Services, Community Development, and the County Executive’s Office. While achieving great progress as partners, having multiple staff involved in the project has made it difficult to achieve a cohesive understanding of the project as a whole. The addition of one temporary Housing Projects Manager dedicated to the Southwood project would provide the County and Habitat with a dedicated point of contact and key facilitator for the many departments, outside agencies, and Habitat process owners to ensure successful collaboration, planning, scheduling, and coordinating of all work related to the redevelopment of Southwood. The Project Manager for the Southwood Redevelopment Project will be a two-year, temporary position in the Office of Housing within the Department of Social Services.
BUDGET IMPACT: The Housing Fund has $1,939,575 in a Housing Fund Reserve intended to support housing initiatives that are one-time costs and will support the County’s strategic and housing goals. Staff believes the Project Manager position discussed above meets the intended uses of the Housing Fund Reserve. Should the Board choose the approve the request, the Housing Reserve Fund balance will decrease by $170,000 for a balance of $1,769,575.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends allocating $170,000 from the Housing Fund to cover the salary and of hiring a temporary Housing Project Manager for a minimum of two years to support the Southwood Redevelopment project.
ATTACHMENTS: None