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David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or [email protected].
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 (Washington, D.C.) January 11, 2022 – The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) is pleased to announce that Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) CEO Jeffery K. Patterson has been named president of CLPHA’s board of directors.
Mr. Patterson was elected at CLPHA’s December 2021 board meeting, and previously served as the board’s vice president. He follows CLPHA’s previous board president, King County Housing Authority (KCHA) Executive Director Stephen Norman, who retired on December 31, 2021. CLPHA is also pleased to announce that La Shelle Dozier, executive director of the Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency, was elected CLPHA vice president and Maria Razo, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino, was elected CLPHA secretary at the board’s December 2021 meeting. Ed Lowndes, executive director of the Housing Authority of Kansas City, MO, was re-elected board treasurer.
"I am honored to be elected president of CLPHA’s board and would like to thank Stephen Norman for his service and leadership upon his well-deserved retirement,” said Patterson. “Decades of chronic disinvestment, an aging housing portfolio and racial inequities have long predated the pandemic. Entering the third year of pandemic, these issues have only been magnified.
“We are at a critical juncture,” Patterson added. “Historic housing investments proposed by the White House and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in the Build Back Better Act have stalled in the Senate. CLPHA will continue robust advocacy to ensure these significant housing investments are available to housing authorities across the country who are serving low-income families every day in their local communities.”
“Congratulations to CMHA CEO Jeffery Patterson on being named president of the Board of Directors of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. I was pleased to join him, residents, and city leaders at the recent groundbreaking of the Buckeye-Woodhill Choice Neighborhoods transformation plan, which will provide high quality affordable housing that is connected to economic, educational, and health opportunities in a vibrant neighborhood. I look forward to continuing to work with CEO Patterson in his new role to bring greater affordable housing opportunities to more people and communities in Ohio and across the country,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
“Jeffery has been an invaluable asset to CLPHA in his seven years on the board,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “He leads in many ways, not only as board vice president, but also more locally through the many boards he serves on in the greater Cleveland area. Jeffery has a deep understanding of national housing issues as well as local challenges and solutions, and his commitment to CLPHA will ensure continuity through this leadership transition. I look forward to working with CLPHA’s new board leadership to advance our goals and policy priorities in these unprecedented times.”
Mr. Patterson has served as CMHA’s CEO for ten years and has over thirty years of dedicated service to the residents of Cuyahoga County. As CEO of one of the largest housing authorities in the country, he is responsible for a $230 million dollar budget, approximately 750 employees, 10,500 units of housing, 15,000 Housing Choice Vouchers, and nearly 55,000 residents and participants of CMHA's low-income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs. He also serves on the board of directors for the Housing Authority Insurance Group, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (Chairman), Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (Vice-Chairman), St. Luke’s Foundation, United Way of Greater Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Foodbank, Unify Labs Inc., University Circle Inc., the Cleveland Public Library Foundation, and the National Kidney Foundation.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
April 9, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) April 9, 2021 – The Biden Administration’s recently announced infrastructure proposal, The American Jobs Plan, includes a $40 billion commitment to recapitalize public housing infrastructure. Applying data from a report by Econsult Solutions (ESI), a private data analytics firm, CLPHA estimates that 440,000 jobs will be created and $76 billion in economic impact generated during the time when the $40 billion in funds are spent.
“Investing in public housing infrastructure offers many economic benefits beyond lifting families out of poverty and preventing homelessness,” said Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA). “The American Jobs Plan is the first to provide the size and scale of resources necessary to repair the crumbling infrastructure of public housing. In return local employers, governments, and industries will benefit from an economic activity that outpaces investment and creation of good-paying construction jobs.”
CLPHA commissioned ESI to evaluate the economic impacts of six public housing authorities (PHAs) in diverse markets across the country. Released in late 2018, “The Economic Impact of Public Housing: Ongoing Investment with Wide-Reaching Returns” found that PHAs generate and induce multiple streams of economic activity benefiting public housing residents and their local communities. For every $1 million PHAs spend on capital investments, $1.89 million in economic activity is generated and 11 full-time jobs are supported. CLPHA applied the American Jobs Plan’s $40 billion for recapitalizing public housing infrastructure with ESI’s economic impact numbers and found the American Jobs Plan will generate $76 billion in economic activity and 440,00 jobs — a nearly 2 to 1 ratio for economic impact generated to dollars spent.
“After decades of chronic underfunding and disinvestment in public housing infrastructure, the American Jobs Plan can be game changing. Local communities have an opportunity to experience the benefits of a robust public and affordable housing system,” said Zaterman. “Whether it is improving life outcomes for low-income families, creating positive impacts in surrounding neighborhoods of well-maintained public housing, expanding local and state tax bases, or spurring regional job creation and economic growth, public housing is a benefit. It is clear from the American Jobs Plan that the Biden Administration is committed to advancing public housing.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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Grants will help PHA residents with immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19
Washington, D.C. (February 9, 2021) -- The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) is pleased to announce the ten recipients of its COVID Resident Support Grants. The recipients are CLPHA member public housing authorities (PHAs) from across the country that will utilize their grants to meet immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19 for projects such as providing residents with essential household supplies, helping households successfully lease affordable units with their housing vouchers, and supplying technology and devices that will help resident children attend virtual school or connect resident seniors with healthcare resources. The recipients were chosen via a competitive selection process, and the robust response to CLPHA’s call for applications demonstrates the need for additional funds to support COVID-19 relief services and supplies for low-income Americans.
“As housing providers for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children, families, and seniors, our members are uniquely positioned to serve the low-income residents in their communities that are hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “We are pleased to provide these ten grants that will support PHAs in their efforts to not only keep residents stably housed, but also to provide crucial supplies and resources that will help residents cope with the new normal created by the pandemic."
The grantees are:
- INLIVIAN (Charlotte, NC)
- Elm City Communities (New Haven, CT)
- Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro (Goldsboro, NC)
- Jersey City Housing Authority (Jersey City, NJ)
- Lucas Metropolitan Housing (Toledo, OH)
- Oklahoma City Housing Authority (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Home Forward (Portland, OR)
- Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (Ventura, CA)
- Tacoma Housing Authority (Tacoma, WA)
- Wilmington Housing Authority (Wilmington, NC)
Learn more about CLPHA’s grantees and how they will use these funds to help meet the public health, education, employment, and basic urgent needs of their residents profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic here.
These ten sub-grants are made possible through CLPHA’s grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP) COVID-19 Response Fund.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA .
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.
About The Center for Disaster Philanthropy
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s mission is to leverage the power of philanthropy to mobilize a full range of resources that strengthen the ability of communities to withstand disasters and recover equitably when they occur. CDP manages domestic and international Disaster Funds on behalf of corporations, foundations and individuals through targeted, holistic and localized grantmaking. For more information, visit: disasterphilanthropy.org, call (202) 464-2018 or tweet us @funds4disaster.
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(Washington, D.C.) August 19, 2024 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon the release of Vice President Kamala Harris' and Governor Tim Walz's housing plan at a rallty in North Carolina on Friday: "The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the Harris-Walz campaign for its historic call for more affordable housing measures in its economic plan released on Friday in North Carolina. By every measure, low-income Americans are experiencing crisis levels of housing instability and homelessness. CLPHA strongly supports the Harris Walz campaign’s call for an expansion of tax incentives for affordable rental housing, an innovation fund for low-income housing, and expansion of the child tax credit, which would contribute to decreasing housing instability and homelessness among American’s most vulnerable families. 'We are hopeful that the tax incentives for affordable rental housing are at a scale that would generate as much affordable housing production or more as the low-income housing tax credit provisions in the bipartisan tax bill. The child tax credit improves a low-income parent’s ability to afford housing, which increases housing stability and improves children’s health outcomes. 'CLPHA will continue to advocate for policies that prioritize the affordability and sustainability of public and affordable housing throughout this campaign which includes fully funding the public housing capital and operating funds, expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program, and prioritizing cross-sector approaches for housing, health and education." |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities |
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(Washington, D.C.) November 17, 2023 — Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon the Biden-Harris administration’s announcement yesterday of the U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health and the CHIP Health-Related Social Needs Framework:: “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the Biden-Harris administration’s publication of the U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health and the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Health-Related Social Needs Framework. President Biden and HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge have led the nation in raising awareness of the foundational role that housing plays in improving life outcomes for low-income Americans throughout the President’s term. “CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative has driven the conversation for a decade on how best to bridge the housing and health sectors to improve the life outcomes of residents living in federally assisted housing. CLPHA has long supported public policies cited in the Framework such as evidence-based interventions to support housing and nutrition needs for certain Medicaid enrollees. CLPHA has also advocated for innovative solutions like waivers for Medicaid through its 1115 demonstration that allow for housing-related assistance. “With current programs proving beneficial and innovative programs being developed we know we have the answers. Yet, for these programs to be successful they must be funded at a level that meets the need. Unfortunately, they are not funded at those levels currently. While announcements like these are important in raising the awareness of the foundational role of housing in improving health outcomes, we must continue to advocate for increased resources, including incentivizing PHA/Medicaid partnerships, so they can deliver the benefits they are designed to achieve.” |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
(Washington, DC) November 30, 2022 -- Statement from Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, on the importance of finalizing the FY23 appropriations legislation:
“For the millions of families served by public housing authorities, it is critical for Congress to complete the FY23 appropriations legislation before the start of the 118th Congress in January. The leading public housing advocacy organizations, in one voice, call on Congress to get this legislation passed so that our most vulnerable families are not put at risk.
“The consequences of a government shutdown or a series of continuing resolutions, which lock the previous year’s funding levels in place, create uncertainty for PHAs by not accounting for inflation or current shortfalls that could be severe and would amount to a budget cut. It will tie the hands of housing authorities and impact their abilities to provide their residents with safe, secure, and affordable housing.
“These consequences are preventable if Congress passes the FY23 appropriations legislation at the funding levels requested by the public housing organizations in the letter sent to Congress. We look forward to working with Congress as they finalize the legislation.”
Media Contact:
David Greer, CLPHA
(202) 550-1381
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
In Affordable Housing Finance's article "Turning Point for Public Housing," CLPHA' Executive Director Sunia Zaterman says of the massive capital needs backlog facing public housing authorities that “[t]he handwriting has been on the wall. The funding levels were not sustainable."
Zaterman adds, "We have lost about 10,000 units a year from underfunding," but that "[t]he number of public housing units lost may have slowed to about 8,000 a year, thanks to RAD, in the last couple of years.”
With RAD, says Zaterman, “[w]e have achieved proof of concept,... We could have the portfolio totally recapitalized in 10 years.”
Read Affordable Housing Finance's article here.
Vancouver, WA newspaper The Columbian quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman about the disastrous effect President Trump's budget proposal would have on pubic and affordable housing in their article "Trump’s budget would cut social safety nets:"
"The administration wants us to think beyond investing in bricks and mortar, and instead think about investing in people. This budget does neither of those things. The disinvestment in housing and supportive services is a disinvestment in our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including the 2.2 million low- and very low-income families, children, elderly and persons with disabilities who are served by public housing. Congress has previously rejected draconian budgets that shred our safety net, and we call on them to do so again."
Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA) Executive Director Roy Johnson, who contributed comment for the story, explained how Trump's proposed budget would negatively impact the individuals and families served by VHA. Johnson told the paper that losing public housing funding would result in 114 planned units losing subsidy, including Caples Terrace, an under-construction project in Vancouver for homeless youth and youth aging out of foster care slated to open in July, and two other public housing projects the housing authority hopes to start at the end of 2019.
Read Zaterman's full statement on Trump's proposed 2020 budget
Scotsman Guide, a resource for mortgage originators, quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman about how President Donald Trump's proposed FY 2020 budget will affect affordable housing in their article "2020 budget: How does it affect the mortgage industry?":
“The administration wants us to think beyond investing in bricks and mortar, and instead think about investing in people. This budget does neither of those things,” said Sunia Zaterman..."The disinvestment in housing and supportive services is a disinvestment in our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including the 2.2 million low- and very low-income families, children, elderly and persons with disabilities who are served by public housing."
Read Zaterman's full statement on Trump's proposed 2020 budget
In yesterday's article "Trust in Public Housing at Stake Over Looming Government Shutdown," YES! Magazine quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman and CLPHA members Kurt Wiest, Bremerton Housing Authority Executive Director, and Mark Gillett, Oklahoma City Housing Authority Executive Director, on how another government shutdown could continue to sow mistrust in public housing authorities (PHAs) and HUD.
Zaterman, who noted that landlords could shy away from participating in voucher programs if there is concern that PHAs will not pay them, asked, “Just the prospect of payments not being made will have a very disruptive impact—will the federal government contract be honored?”
Wiest stressed the importance of PHAs maintaining a good rapport with landlords. “We work really, really hard to have good relationships with local landlords. And if there’s the slightest hint that they won’t get their subsidy payments as promised, it erodes trust,” said Wiest. “And this program operates on trust.”
Gillett added that if PHAs cannot pay their landlords, there could be dire consequences for tenants. “There is a provision in the law saying if a housing assistance payment isn’t paid, it shouldn’t be grounds for eviction,” Gillett said. “But it’s never been tested.”
On January 31, HUD, the City of New York, and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced an agreement to address longstanding issues at the housing authority’s properties. The agreement establishes specific requirements and milestones for property improvements and establishes a federal monitor who will be selected by HUD and the Southern District of New York, with input from the city.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio appointed Kathryn Garcia, the city’s sanitation commissioner, to succeed Stanley Brezenoff as interim chair until a permanent head of the authority is selected.
Brezenoff, who also serves on CLPHA’s Board of Directors, called the job as NYCHA’s interim chair and CEO, “one of the toughest and most rewarding jobs in America.” In Tuesday’s press release announcing his successor, Brezenoff said, “I will leave this interim role knowing that we are putting NYCHA in very capable hands. I am confident that Commissioner Garcia is the right person to continue our efforts to improve the quality of lives for residents, and preserve public housing for generations to come.”
From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's website:
For 35 years, the Korean Service Center (KSC) has helped residents age in place at MPHA’s Cedar High Apartments by providing culturally responsive, holistic support. From social services and in-home care to transportation and daily meals, KSC meets residents where they are and helps them remain independent.
“We are the one-stop shop for older Korean adults coming to Minneapolis,” said Kwangja Kwon, Executive Director of the Korean Service Center. “These residents rely on our daily routines and care to continue living here. We provide services that help them feel safe, supported, and at home.”
The organization began in 1989 after an MPHA intern recognized the need for a bridge between Korean residents and the social services they depended on. The Korean Service Center initially focused on helping Korean immigrants adjust to life in Minneapolis by offering English classes, citizenship application assistance, and a meal program.
Today, KSC continues to help residents navigate language and cultural barriers—no matter where they are from. Staff assist with housing applications, connect residents to social services, and partner with MPHA to complete annual housing recertifications. Center staff also provide transportation to medical appointments, helping residents navigate healthcare facilities and offering interpretation services along the way.
“Previously, when elderly residents received recertification paperwork, they didn’t know what to do with it,” Kwon said. “We help them gather the required documents and make sure everything gets back to MPHA. Our collaboration with MPHA is incredibly valuable because it makes a real difference for the residents.”
In 1999, KSC opened Grace Place, the nation’s first assisted living program for Korean Americans, located on MPHA’s Cedar High campus. With staff on-site, Grace Place supports dozens of older adults and people with disabilities through home care services, daily meals, and engaging social activities that help residents age in place.
Residents receive three traditional Korean meals every day of the year, with some ingredients grown in on-site gardens. The organization also promotes mental, physical, and social well-being through programs such as afternoon tea, art classes, weekly bingo, a community choir, walking groups, tai chi, and yoga. In 2025, a Highrise Health Alliance mini-grant helped fund a community choir performance.
As residents’ care needs grew, KSC launched the Sunflower Program in 2013 to provide 24-hour support on a dedicated floor of Cedar High. The program offers assistance with bathing, housekeeping, medication management, and other daily needs, allowing residents to remain in the community they call home. With the average participant now 87 years old, the program has become increasingly vital.
“The Korean Service Center has been an exceptional and long-term partner,” said Mary Boler, Director of Operations at the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “Their dedication and compassion in providing quality services to MPHA residents has enriched the lives of so many people, residents and staff alike.”
For many MPHA residents, KSC staff have become like family. They provide meals, transportation, personal care, and companionship while treating every resident with dignity and respect. For MPHA, the partnership ensures residents have the support they need to remain healthy, connected, and safely housed for years to come.
From the Chicago Housing Authority's press release:
The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) today accepted a $2.3 million Jobs Plus Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), funding a five-year effort to connect working-age residents at Wentworth Gardens with employment services. CHA is one of only 10 agencies nationwide to receive the grant.
Jobs Plus is a place-based program built on three core components: employment-related services, a financial rent incentive, and community support. Through strong, sustained partnerships with local organizations, CHA will offer residents employment training, skill building, financial literacy training, and direct hire job placements. Program goals include increasing the number of residents who find employment, raising quarterly employment rates, and boosting resident income, with outcomes designed to outlast the five-year grant term.
This is CHA’s third Jobs Plus award, following grants at Altgeld Gardens (2015-2019) and Dearborn Homes (2021-2025). Wentworth Gardens program include the Wentworth Gardens Local Advisory Council, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and UI Health Miles Square are among those partners offering resources for Jobs Plus Participants at Wentworth Gardens this grant period.
The program’s impact is reflected in the staff it has helped build, as well as the residents it serves. Ethiah Williams first came to Jobs Plus as a participant and now leads as a Program Manager:
“Jobs Plus saw potential in me before I fully saw it in myself,” Williams said. “It gave me confidence, skills, leadership, and purpose. I am standing here today because someone invested in me, and now I have the privilege of investing in others.”
From the Barberton Community Foundation's press release:
Barberton Community Foundation’s Board of Directors approved $450,665 across 22 grants in the second of two 2026 competitive grant cycles. Including the total five-year commitment to Magical Theatre Company in this granting cycle’s only long-term grant, the Foundation’s current grants and future commitments from this grant cycle total $590,665.
“Each grant is connected to larger goals for our community’s success,” said Executive Director Josh Gordon. “We are investing in the organizations and partnerships that will help us develop systems that help children start strong, connect our residents to opportunity, strengthen family stability, and bring more activity to our downtown. That alignment and focus is how these grant dollars maintain Barberton’s momentum.”
The cycle begins with $142,500 for early learning, strengthening the network of families, educators, preschool providers, and community partners working to help Barberton children enter kindergarten ready to learn and thrive.
Summit Education Initiative received $57,500 for the second year of the Barberton Preschool Collaborative work supporting cradle-to-career education. The partnership supports professional development, curriculum alignment, kindergarten transitions, and better use of kindergarten readiness data. Funding will also help develop a Birth-to-Grade 3 dashboard so partners can identify and respond to trends affecting local children and families.
Child Guidance & Family Solutions received $35,000 for programs that help educators respond to challenging behaviors, strengthen children’s emotional and social skills, and support healthier parent-child relationships. The grant will also expand the Incredible Years® Parent and Child program to the organization’s Barberton office.
Two additional grants bring kindergarten preparation and family support directly into children’s homes. The Early Childhood Resource Center received $25,000 for SPARK, an in-home kindergarten readiness program for 3- and 4-year-olds. Building for Tomorrow, the nonprofit arm of Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, received $25,000 for home visits, developmental screenings, readiness activities, and connections to community resources for children from birth to age 5.
From the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's website:
On a blustery July day in Valdez, Alaska, community members, builders, developers and congressional representatives gathered in a neighborhood nestled beneath green mountains to celebrate the completion of 20 new affordable housing units that local residents will soon call home.
The July 8 ribbon cutting at Blueberry Terrace celebrated the completion of years of work, spearheaded by the Alaska Corporation for Affordable Housing, a subsidiary of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, in partnership with the City of Valdez.
In 2011, the Alaska Legislature passed HB119 allowing AHFC to create a subsidiary to develop affordable housing throughout Alaska. As a subsidiary of AHFC, ACAH develops, manages, and operates affordable housing and provides services to support the mission of AHFC: providing Alaskans access to safe, quality, affordable housing. In addition to the latest development in Valdez, ACAH properties include a combined 208 units of housing in Anchorage and 58 units in Fairbanks.
The design at Blueberry Terrace aims to create the feeling of single-family properties for the residents while maintaining affordability. The development consists of 10 duplexes making each of the 20 units an end unit. The units are separated by garages, meaning that residents don’t share walls with their neighbors’ living spaces. The result is a cost-effective development that also enhances privacy.
Duplex design at Blueberry Terrace takes into account a range of housing needs – from Older Alaskans looking for a small and affordable space to help them maintain their independence to growing families looking for an affordable neighborhood to raise their children.
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The property serves as evidence that partnership between local governments, investors and AHFC can help meet the housing needs of Alaskans. In Valdez, the lack of available and affordable housing is so severe that the Valdez City Council established housing availability as their top priority for 2025.
“We have more jobs than there are people in Valdez but we lack housing for middle and low-income families,” says Valdez Mayor Dennis Fleming.
“There was a big need for us to have housing in the community of Valdez and Alaska Housing was our partner in this.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski echoed this priority during her remarks at the ribbon cutting, commended the community for taking a tangible step toward addressing their top identified need:
“We can focus on healthcare or we can focus on education, or we can focus on tourism or what needs to happen within our fisheries. But at the end of the day, everybody who's involved in education, in healthcare, in tourism and fisheries – they all need a place to live. And so it all comes back to housing…So to the people of Valdez: you have led by example, you've set the standard today.”
From The Spokesman-Review:
Offering 240 units of affordable housing in the Dishman Hills area of Spokane Valley, the Orchard Vista Grand Opening marks the completion of an affordable housing project that broke ground this time last year.
A household qualifies for the affordable complex if gross income is at or below 60% of area median for the Spokane metro area. Under 2025 HUD figures, that is about $42,350 for one person and $48,400 for two.
“Our one-bedroom apartments are $1,165,” said Nicole Gose, a property manager at Orchid Vista Apartments. “At a regular market-rate property, you’d be looking at $1,500 to $1,600 a month.”
The project came in at roughly $68 million, receiving funding from the state, the city of Spokane Valley, Seattle Foundation’s Evergreen Impact Housing Fund, along with CitiBank and Washington Trust Bank.
“It’s the largest project that we’ve ever done in our history,” said Pamela Parr, the executive director of Spokane Housing Authority.
Out of 240 total units, 106 are currently leased, with 58 currently occupied. Gose expects the remaining units to fill up within the next few months. She says the project has been very efficient, in both speed and spending.
“We were able to produce the units for 30% less than it would have cost us otherwise by creating this public-private partnership with the Inland Group, and it was also delivered much faster,” Parr said of the contractor for the project.
Mayor Laura Padden praised the group for coming in under budget, saying that affordable housing is important in addressing the growing Valley population.
“As the city grows, there’s always a need for more housing at all levels, so this is one of the steps, and a pretty large number of units,” Padden said.
“We’re all for affordable housing and also homeownership, so we’re trying to go across the spectrum,” she said.
The site is also going to include a childcare center, which is planned at 4,500 square feet on the northwest corner of the complex. The SHA won $126,000 from the state for the center, which will be YMCA operated. The SHA estimates the site to include two classrooms of 18 to 20 children.