indieDwell and LEAP Partner with St. Alphonsus, NewWest CapitaI and IHFA on 14 Home Subdivision
A new indieDwell Model 9 home at Windy Court 2 Boise, Idaho
indieDwell, LEAP Housing Solutions and St. Alphonsus announced a new 14 home subdivision coming to Boise, which will be the largest single family affordable housing project in Idaho in 25 years. Complete release below.
Boise, Idaho -- A partnership between Saint Alphonsus Health System and LEAP Housing Solutions will create the first-ever land trust for affordable housing in the Treasure Valley. LEAP will use the trust to sell brand new 4-bedroom homes to cost-burdened families for $212,000 for the purpose of affordable homeownership.
“The LEAP Housing Trust was made possible only through the generosity of Saint Alphonsus,” said LEAP’s Executive Director Bart Cochran. “Without Saint Alphonsus, we really couldn’t have created an affordable homeownership opportunity like this.”
The development, Caritas Commons, will feature 14 brand new indieDwell homes made from upcycled steel cargo containers. It will be the largest affordable homeownership project in the area in 25 years. The project is financed by Idaho Housing and Finance Association and NewWest Community Capital.
LEAP’s Yes You Can homeownership program, in partnership with Property People, a real estate team with broker Silvercreek Realty Group, is helping families navigate the income-qualification process. These homes will be the first addition to the LEAP Housing Trust. LEAP will add more land to the trust as mission-minded sellers, churches or municipalities contact them.
“The data are clear – The 2020 Saint Alphonsus Community Health Needs Assessment identified safe, affordable housing as the No. 1 priority among residents and community partners in the region. Affordable housing is directly related to health outcomes. As a trusted health partner for life, we are committed to caring about patient needs, including the need for a safe, affordable home,” said Jennifer Palagi, DNP, MPH, RN, Vice President, Community Health & Well-Being at Saint Alphonsus.
The first four homes are available to households earning 80% or less than area median income. Prospective buyers can learn more and certify their income levels by visiting www.FinallyAffordable.org. Applicants do not need a realtor to apply. Phase 1 homes are scheduled for occupancy in January 2021.
The highly energy efficient homes will be architecturally top-of-the-line, newly-constructed by local builder indieDwell and located in West Boise on Shields Avenue near Old Horseshoe Bend Road in Northwest Boise.
New affordable homes are critical as Boise real estate inventory has decreased during the COVID-19 era and prices have increased. Median home prices soared to more than $416,287 for new construction (Boise Regional Realtors Market Statistics, April 2020) making homeownership out-of-reach for low-income families.
The term “low-income” is defined by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when household income is less than 80% Area Median Income (AMI). A Boise household of four, for example, would qualify at 80% AMI if it earns less than $59,850. Caritas Commons is planned for households in this income range.
“The only thing better than creating affordable housing opportunities,” said Cochran, “is ensuring opportunities remain affordable forever.”
The first phase of Caritas Commons will be permanently affordable utilizing the Shared Equity Model, also known as a Community Land Trust. In this model, homeowners own their homes and the land is owned by the Trust in order to guarantee "perpetual affordability" even when someone sells. Shared equity homeownership is a self sustaining model that balances wealth building for families who would otherwise be unable to afford owning a home by preserving the community’s investment.
A one-time investment makes a home affordable for purchase by a working family with modest means, and the home remains affordable for family after family. In return for buying a home below its market rate value, the family agrees to limit equity when they sell. This first family shares their equity by paying it forward. In other words, the one-time public investment into the LEAP Housing Trust serves an endless number of families.
“To ensure the perpetual affordability of these homes, a community donation of $40,000 per unit is needed,” said Cochran. “Saint Alphonsus was a lead donor in helping secure the first six homes at the $212,000 price point. An additional $320,000 to the LEAP Housing Trust will secure forever-affordability for all homes at Caritas Commons.”
Funding is now being sought to ensure that the remaining 8 of 14 are also permanently affordable. LEAP has raised $240,000 thus far and is seeking $320,000 to ensure the entire Caritas Commons community is dedicated to forever affordability.
This affordable housing development was made possible by Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) awarding LEAP with funding from the HOME program, a loan from NewWest (formerly Idaho Nevada CDFI), and a local landowner selling the land at near market value for affordable housing development.
Visit LEAPHousing.org to learn how the public can contribute to the LEAP Housing community land trust, with land or financial support.
LEAP’s in-house homebuyer navigation program Yes You Can is now accepting appointments for those interested in buying a home in the Treasure Valley or at Caritas Commons. Yes You Can focuses on providing homebuyer navigation to renters who have barriers to ownership. At any time, Yes You Can has a queue of prequalified buyers searching for affordable homes in the Treasure Valley. These hopeful homebuyers have been doing their homework for months (or years) waiting for inventory to come on the market.
Since 2018, LEAP has been certified as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) focused on decreasing the affordable housing deficit through creation of innovative and out-of-the-box affordable housing communities. LEAP Housing Solutions is a Boise-based nonprofit who develops and preserves affordable housing while providing empowering services that lead to greater housing stability.
REPORTERS/EDITORS You can access a digital press kit at this link: https://bit.ly/3eVJbAU
The press kit includes video of the ground blessing ceremony, images of what the Caritas Commons homes will look like, video of the Windy Court 2 community built by indieDwell, speaker bios and the press release.
MEDIA CONTACTS
LEAP
Contact: Zeb Moers, Community Advancement
Phone: (208) 391-2823
Email: zeb@leapcharities.org
indieDwell
Contact: Chris Blanchard, Sales and Marketing
Phone: (208) 392-8726
Email: cblanchard@indieDwell.com
St. Alphonsus
Mark Snider, Media and Public Relations Coordinator
Mark.Snider@SaintAlphonsus.org
Phone: (208) 779-0560
###