Vera French Community Mental Health has been awarded more than $9.4 million through the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) to support the construction of new affordable housing in central Davenport.
The project, named Carol’s Village Gardens, will include 30 new units of affordable and supportive housing for families. The units will be built next to Vera French’s Carol Center at 808 N. Harrison St.
Vera French’s latest housing project recently received $843,750 in federal housing tax credits and $1 million in loans through the state HOME Program, administered by IFA. It will receive the Low Income Housing Tax Credits for 10 years for a total benefit of more than $8.4 million.
Vera French said the housing project will complement the Carol Center’s outreach programs, which work to answer people’s basic needs, assist with workforce re-entry and offer social engagement for those in recovery.
“Carol’s Village Gardens bridges the gap between unstable living situations and permanent supportive housing,” Stacy Kiser, Vera French Housing’s executive director, said in Vera French’s news release.
The release added that prospective residents will not be required to have a specific medical diagnosis in order to apply for one of Carol’s Village Gardens’ rental units. Applicants will be considered based on income eligibility. A small number of the units also will be held for those now experiencing homelessness.
“The beauty of Vera French Housing is that we are a landlord plus,” Dr. Richard Whitaker, Jr., the CEO of Vera French Community Mental Health Center, said in the release. “The ‘plus’ is the little added care and concern for our tenants and the connection to Vera French mental health support.”
The IFA Board of Directors announced last week that it had awarded a total of more than $15 million in federal credits and HOME program loans. The funding will support construction and rehabilitation of 410 affordable rental homes across Iowa. In addition to Carol’s Village Gardens, awards were made to 10 other rental housing projects in Ames, Burlington, Des Moines, Dubuque, Keokuk, Mount Vernon, Sioux City and West Burlington.
In the 2023 tax credit round, IFA received 24 applications requesting a total of more than $22 million in housing tax credits. The authority had a total of approximately $10 million available to allocate. The actual awards total nearly $100 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.
The IFA Board of Directors also recently approved $5.1 million in HOME funds to support eight rental housing tax credit projects, including Carol’s Village Gardens.
In addition, the IFA designated Vera French Community Mental Health Center as a “community Housing Development Organization,” or CHDO, which allows Vera French to access additional funding.
Vera French now oversees 142 housing units across 25 buildings in Davenport and Bettendorf, including its 2022 purchase of 14 affordable housing units in Davenport from the city.
Previously, Vera French’s new housing project also received a total of $330,000 in funding from the Regional Development Authority (RDA) and the Scott County Regional Authority (SCRA) during their Fall 2021 grant rounds.
“Housing is foundational to the economic mobility of Iowans and the strength of our communities,” IFA Executive Director Debi Durham said in a news release from IFA.
Funding for the HOME Program is allocated among the states and hundreds of communities nationwide by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Iowa, IFA allocates HOME funds to eligible entities to build and preserve affordable housing.
When a developer uses Low Income Housing Tax Credits, investors purchase the credits for cash equity upfront, which allows the project to be constructed.
Other Iowa housing projects receiving funding through IFA include:
- Cottonwood Trail, Mount Vernon, will receive $675,000 in tax credits and a HOME Award of $1.1 million for housing for residents 55 and older. The developer is Community Housing Initiatives, Inc.
- Columbia Station in Burlington will receive $865,583 in tax credits for the construction of a 30-unit family housing project.
- Alice Place in West Burlington will receive $1.16 million and a $500,000 state HOME Award for construction of a 47-unit housing project for residents 55 and older.
- JB Lofts in Dubuque will receive $501,296 plus a $500,000 HOME Award for the adaptive reuse of a 41-unit family housing project.
- Emri Apartments in Dubuque will receive $1.18 million plus a $500,000 HOME Award for the construction of a new 48-unit family housing project.
