| Name | Jens |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Christensen |
| Home Address | 1 Ozark Place Chattanooga, TN 37415 United States |
| Organization Name | Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I am the CEO of the organization, responsible for all oversight and development activities. |
| Organization Address | 1201 East Main Street Chattanooga, TN 37408 United States |
| Website | https://habichatt.org |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 4237560507 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 4234907317 |
| Email Address | jchristensen@habichatt.org |
| Alternate Email Address | jchristensen@habichatt.org |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Homeownership is a game-changer for social change in a community. Not only does ownership offer households a safe, stable place to live, but folks also gain equity and establish wealth through the process of paying for their housing. These important factors allow home ownership to pave a path to eliminating generational poverty. A 2018 technical bulletin published by the Chattanooga Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency states that in 2017, 86% of renters with annual income less than $20,000 and 71% of renters with annual incomes between $20,000 and $35,000 were housing-cost burdened. Further, the same agency stated in a 2013 housing study that Chattanooga has a deficit of roughly 4,000 units of affordable housing. In 2019, the City of Chattanooga announced that the former Tubman site in East Chattanooga would be redeveloped with an anchor company for paint manufacture. While the overall plan demonstrated housing on site, progress seems to have slowed. We propose an intentional approach to housing development along Southern Street and Roanoke Avenue in direct partnership with the City and other housing agencies. Much like The Villages in Alton Park, the development would be mixed income, with a focus on home-ownership. Details would need to be finalized, but the opportunity should not be missed. Total expense would vary, but could reasonably be contained to $120,000 per home if the lots are properly prepared and infrastructure in place. Assuming 25 lots are made available with infrastructure in place, the total build out cost would be approximately $3,000,000. We are poised to take on this challenge, if properly funded with an ongoing commitment from the City, and would foresee a process wherein we would forge partnerships for execution. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga is uniquely poised to take the lead in developing this area. With more than 35 years of affordable housing management, with the construction of nearly 300 homes and the fulfillment of hundreds of home repairs, we have extensive management, development and partnership experience. In addition, our relationship with community leaders positions us to establish trust within neighborhoods. By leveraging partnerships and forging new ones, such as a potential direct partnership with CNE, we believe the project would be successful and powerful. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | Housing and infrastructure are both direct, allowable costs of the American Rescue Plan per legislation as written. Specifically, the Interim Final Rule addresses projects such as this through the section on Responding to Negative Economic Impacts as outlined on pages 26793-26796. Below is a brief quote: Building Stronger Communities through Investments in Housing and Neighborhoods. The economic impacts of COVID–19 have likely been most acute in lower-income neighborhoods, including concentrated areas of high unemployment, limited economic opportunity, and housing insecurity. Services in this category alleviate the immediate economic impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic on housing insecurity, while addressing conditions that contributed to poor public health and economic outcomes during the pandemic, namely concentrated areas with limited economic opportunity and inadequate or poor-quality housing. Eligible services include: • Services to address homelessness such as supportive housing, and to improve access to stable, affordable housing among unhoused individuals • Affordable housing development to increase supply of affordable and high-quality living units • Housing vouchers, residential counseling, or housing navigation assistance to facilitate household moves to neighborhoods with high levels of economic opportunity and mobility for low-income residents, to help residents increase their economic opportunity and reduce concentrated areas of low economic opportunity This project directly impacts affordable housing in underserved communities and neighborhoods. By partnering with households that could not otherwise adequately achieve housing stability, not only do we meet the above criteria, but we also will improve health outcomes as described in the Affordable Rescue Plan’s Public Health Needs Section as described on page 26791. Specifically, we would be addressing the need for “Housing services to support healthy living environments and neighborhoods conducive to mental and physical wellness.” |
| Where would your project take place? | Chattanooga, TN at the Former Tubman Site |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 3000000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | Total costs is TBD -TBD – based on number of lots made available by the City; if 25 lots, $3,000,000 for total build out @ $120,000 per lot. Funding would depend on number of lots we could survey and made available by the City. The total funding matrix would include private donors, foundation requests, general revenue through the organization and grant funds which are already requested through state and other sources. |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | We are asking the city to be a meaningful subsidy partner and provide lot possession and infrastructure. |
| If funded, when would your project start? | December 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | Up to Three Years |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Specific partnership with the City to provide lots. Infrastructure in place. Families/owners selected. Construction begins. Construction complete, properties closed with home owners. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | Open data regarding numbers and expenses (protected consumer data would be redacted). Open communication and partnerships. The process would include community input and would be open to interested and engaged partners including the leadership of the surrounding community. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | Current offerings show fewer than 30 active home listings under $156,000 on area MLS at the time of this writing. Affordable ownership opportunities remain scarce. Through intentional subsidy and selection, we can use the Tubman site as a vehicle to offer ownership in an up-and-coming neighborhood to traditionally overlooked and underserved households. The benefits of ownership are many and include increased educational success, decreased criminal justice system interactions, greater stability, overall quality of life and health improvements, as well as improved communities and neighborhoods. Rather than creating a culture of rental occupied dwellings, home-ownership assists families in establishing wealth. Longitudinal studies demonstrate that children raised in stable households experience longer, happier, healthier and more successful lives. In addition, neighborhoods with higher rates of ownership have lower crime rates, higher employment rates and overall better health than neighborhoods primarily mode up of rental homes, particularly when absentee landlords are part of the picture, By creating ownership opportunities in the Tubman site, we might also jump-start the transformation of that community and that project . |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | Habitat for Humanity has a lengthy history in the nearby Glass Street community. We would leverage those existing relationships and partner with neighborhood leadership to assist in developing an overall plan for execution. We plan meetings with Mr. Moreland and others in the near future. Additionally, we would work to engage the Nippon Paint plant employees and leadership in volunteer partnerships. |
| Name | Jens Christensen |
| Contact Information | jchristensen@habichatt.org |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | During the previous administration the City of Chattanooga put in place a plan for the Tubman site that included residential opportunities. Some of the property is required to be used for housing. We’d like to partner in fulfilling those requirements and making the dream of development at that site a reality. |