The Columbia City Council approved the replacement of 79 public housing units along Park Avenue on Monday night. The reasons for replacement are the age of the units, which were constructed in 1964, and “significant problems with collapsing sewer lines, foundation problems and electrical issues,” according to a council memo.
Residents have been notified of the project, said Randy Cole, CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority. “They’re all really excited,” he added.
Specific layout choices were made to accommodate residents’ desire for the units to feel like a neighborhood, Cole said. Included in the plan is a community building with a food pantry, meeting space and an office for a property management or resident services employee, Cole said.
“I think the biggest piece is we’re going to have nice housing, and it’s been needed to be done for many, many years,” Cole said.
Some of the units would be priced below the area median income, while a small portion would be priced at market rate. If all units were priced at fixed income levels, then those who pay rent through gainful employment would be considered “over income” and would effectively be priced out of the units, Cole said.
The mixed-rate status would also improve “economic diversity” for the area, Cole said.
“Everyone who lives there pays a different rent amount based upon their income,” he said. “That can be good for the community and not have people separated too much.”
Funding for the project comes from a $2 million loan from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, $5 million from Boone County ARPA funds, $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funds and $15 million in tax credit financing, Cole said.
The $2 million loan was approved by the council in April 2023. The delay in using the funds was because with so many different sources of funds, they all need to be in order to physically execute the project.
“A lot of it was waiting on (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and the Missouri Housing Development Commission just to go through their due diligence process,” Cole said. “A lot of it isn’t done in parallel, so it’s like one entity waiting on the other. It takes time.”
Consolidated Plan
The council unanimously approved amendments to the city’s Consolidated Plan, the document that outlines its five-year goals.
The change means the city’s Citizen Participation Plan can be amended to allow funding changes up to $125,000 without having to change the Annual Action Plan, which is the document that breaks down how the city will act each year to achieve the long-term goals in the Consolidated Plan.
The change is due to a notification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that the funding for this fiscal year was more than anticipated, according to a council memo.
The money comes in the form of a Community Development Block Grant for just over $1 million and funds from the Home Investment Partnership Program for just under half a million dollars, according to the memo.
Previously, changes to this aspect of the Citizen Participation Plan were needed only if at least 10% of the block grant funds were changed or reallocated.
“The benefit of this change is greater flexibility and reduced administration, particularly for smaller-dollar programs,” Leigh Kottwitz, acting director of Housing and Neighborhood Services, said in her presentation at the meeting. “This change allows funding to be moved between organizations but within the same funding category.”
Public hearing set for capital improvement projects
At the meeting, the council set a public hearing for July 21 to hear input on the capital improvement plan for next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The plan outlines the projected spending and sources of financing for the coming year, according to a council memo.
