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SALT LAKE CITY — After securing $1 million from the Utah Legislature a year ago, a partnership has been formed for a mixed-income housing development that envisions housing for chronically homeless people, affordable housing and units for people with physical disabilities.
Housing Opportunities Inc. (the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County) and Vecino Bond Group LLC, headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, have partnered as Bodhi Salt Lake City, to develop the project by the same name. "Bodhi" is a term with origins in Buddhism that roughly translated, means "awakened."
Bodhi Salt Lake City will include 80 units, 60 of which will be affordable housing in a project summary presented this week to the Utah Legislature's Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.
Nine of the units will be designed for people with physical disabilities, nine for people with mental illnesses and five units will be set aside for people who have been chronically homeless. Twenty units will be available at market rates, according to the summary.
Forty one-bedroom units are planned, along with 24 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units.
The land is zoned as an urban neighborhood station core, in which multifamily housing is an approved use and conditional use permit is required, documents presented to lawmakers state.
The planned mixed-income, transit-oriented, supportive housing development will be constructed at 750 W. South Temple, on land owned by Salt Lake County that as been used as a small neighborhood park. Plans envision a three-story building.
Josh Romney, co-chairman of the Pioneer Park Coalition, which lobbied state lawmakers to appropriate $1 million to help fund such a project, told lawmakers that the Bodhi development "is really servicing those suffering the greatest, and we're really excited about this project."
Janice Kimball, executive director of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County, in an interview Tuesday, said that the partners are finalizing the details of the project.
"There's a huge need for affordable housing. Anything the state can do to further that is really appreciated," she said.
This is the first time the Housing Authority of Salt Lake County has partnered with Vecino Group, Kimball said.
"We did our due diligence. They've got a great reputation. They're very in line with providing affordable housing but also meeting a social need, which fits very closely with our mission. We want to provide housing and make sure that we're meeting the needs of our community and also folks that maybe aren't served well in the community," she said.
Coalition co-chairman Scott Howell, in addressing lawmakers, said the group specifically requested that the appropriation go to the Olene Walker Housing Loan Program.
"As we told you, we would make an accounting of every penny of that money. Today, we're pleased to say when you make the appropriation, we requested specifically that you put that money in the Olene Walker Trust Fund. That was very critical because that trust fund is exactly what we need to have accountability on the funds that were appropriated," he said.
The fund, named for the late Utah governor, has a board that vets funding applications for low-income housing projects.
"They will evaluate every request for dollars there. They have a very low interest rate, and they also make sure, LIHTC (federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits) and all the funding mechanisms are in place before they will lend the money. Before a developer can request the money, they have to have all the plans in place. They have to have all the zoning and they have to have all of those community needs met," Howell said.
"I'm pleased to say today, with the work of DWS (Department of Workforce Services) and the Olene Walker Trust Fund, the $1 million was allocated to a group that was put together by Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County," Howell said.
Kimball said there is great need for affordable housing statewide, so every new development is important.
DWS officials estimate that 46,000 Utah households pay more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing, said department spokesman Nic Dunn.
"We're every excited about this property. It's going to be an asset for years to come," Kimball said.
