HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The City of Huntsville is progressing in its commitment to affordable housing, but there's a lot that goes into it. "Addressing the overall commitment to the affordable housing issue is more than just building units, it's modernizing units," Community Development Manager Scott Erwin shares. "It's actually addressing zoning issues and making sure our wages are compatible with the competitive rent market within our community. So, there's a lot of aspects to what affordable looks like."
Owners of low-income, multifamily rental housing in Huntsville who want to rehabilitate their properties may qualify for funds from the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) Program.
The City of Huntsville’s Community Development Department is accepting applications from those who meet program requirements. The City has $4 million to distribute to eligible property owners.
"This federal funding will allow us to target like 48 units above multifamily and senior developments that maybe aging a little bit like maybe they were built in the sixties or seventies and they're in need of some modern modernization updates to qualify," Erwin shares. "It increases the overall quality of life because the improved and updated units will lead to an improved, better quality of life."
Erwin also discussed how the city has been proactive in regard to the city’s growth and the housing need. "So, the affordable housing opportunities within Huntsville, obviously we're a growing city, we've had a lot of people moving in. " Erwin shares. "We were on a huge growth spurt within our multifamily projects, but also so as community development because we used leverage to create affordable units, those units that are restricted by income and they can't escalate those rent prices. So, we've been doing it for a while. The availability of federal funding has allowed us to do it a little bit more aggressively lately. "
Leading the city to create a position dedicated to seeing these projects through. "City council has recognized the needs and the mayor so we're actually working on a job description for a position that will be dedicated to affordable housing out of community development sometime the first quarter of first half of 24.," Erwin shares. "So, it's a very important issue."
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Monday, November 20th.