Housing Division outlines four-part plan to increase affordable housing

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Housing Division this week shared an outline of the “Home Means Nevada” housing initiative, a $500 million effort announced last week during Gov. Steve Sisolak’s State of the State address.

In his speech, Gov. Sisolak said the initiative would boost construction and home ownership, help seniors retrofit their homes and fund new development. The plan is to invest federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funds to make it happen.

Debt financing programs may help the Housing Division to leverage the funds to provide even greater impact, the governor’s office said.

The four-part plan from the Housing Division puts the bulk of the funds — $300 million – toward multi-family development to produce up to 1,000 new housing units for families and seniors earning less than 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). Some funds would help families making even less to access affordable housing.

“Leveraged with other debt funding, up to 1,700 new units could be developed with this investment,” officials with the governor’s office said.

Christine Hess with the Nevada Housing Coalition said the increase in affordable housing units could help “move the needle” for Nevadans. She said data from the division shows that from 2014-2020 “Nevada’s inventory of affordable housing units was flat,” and the increase in affordable housing units hasn’t kept up with population growth.

The other three parts of the Housing Division’s initiative are:

• $130 million to rehabilitate and preserve 3,000 affordable housing units for families for an additional 30 years, or 4,000 by leveraging additional debt funding.
• $40 million to purchase nearly 100 acres of land for affordable housing developments, which could accommodate 700-800 units.
• $30 million to rehabilitate or improve existing homes to support seniors aging in place, or to lower the cost of homes through land purchase, down payment assistance or other mechanism.