August 2022

From the Executive Director

I can’t believe it’s already August and our Annual Nevada Housing Conference is just two months away! Keep reading to learn about our Keynote Speaker and take a look at the recently released Conference Agenda. A huge thank you to our early Sponsors who help keep our registration affordable for everyone and support top notch content.

If you read our newsletters every month, you may have noticed that we have been recognizing new and renewing members in each issue. We also have been spotlighting some members with a short video. This month, we are featuring Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada, and you can watch previous spotlights here.

On Tuesday, October 18, the day before our Conference and after our Affordable Housing Development 101 Workshop, we will be hosting our Annual Member Meeting. Great news – this year it will be in-person and include great networking and a policy discussion!

For the past two years, NHC has increased our membership over 40% each year! Wow! I want to take the time to say THANK YOU to all members, new and old, for your generous support. Your membership makes our work possible. Because of you, we get to work with dedicated and passionate stakeholders on solutions to the affordable housing crisis. We may not always see the immediate impact of our combined efforts, but with housing at the forefront of conversation these days, we know we are slowly moving the needle to help our fellow Nevadans who need it most.

Thank you,

Christine

Announcing Our Keynote Speaker

How does Momentum in sports relate to Momentum in affordable housing? Join our Conference to find out!

We are excited to announce that Olympic Skier, David Wise, will be the Keynote Speaker at our Housing Conference the morning of Wednesday, October 19th. David is a born and raised Nevadan, graduate from Wooster High School, avid outdoorsman and adrenaline enthusiast. His day job is competing on the US Olympic Team for Men’s Half-Pipe Freeskiing, which has taken him to Russia in 2014, and South Korea in 2018 for the Winter Olympics where he won gold back to back. He is just returning from Beijing, China with a Silver medal to add to his Olympic collection.

David and his family work closely in the Reno community raising money for nonprofits connected to affordable housing such as The Empowerment Center and its Marvel Way Project. Read David’s full Bio HERE.

Upcoming Events

Instant Affordable Housing: Just Add Relationships and Incentives

Wednesday, August 24th
12:00 – 12:45pm

This month we have assembled an intriguing panel to discuss a real-time example in which residents are gaining access to rentals that existed but did not exist as affordable rental housing before “Relationships and Incentives” came to the table. We will first hear from Maurice Page of Page Strategic Solutions, who through various roles in his consulting position, will share some of the successes for affordable housing, some of the barriers that still exist and some of the opportunities as we move forward through this evolving housing market and existing affordable housing crisis.

Supportive Housing Incubator Academy

The Supportive Housing Incubator Academy is just over a week away! This is a no-cost opportunity for organizations assessing their capacity to develop supportive housing in Nevada. The Academy will cover foundations of supportive housing, assessing organizational readiness, roles and partnerships.

Participants of the Academy are required to attend 1 virtual session and 1 in-person session. A limited number of attendees may qualify for up to 10 hours of customized technical assistance with CSH.

Day 1
Virtual Session: Mandatory for all participants
Thursday, August 25th from 1:00-4:00pm

Day 2
North Session: Tuesday, August 30th from 10:00am-4:00pm
Concept Cafe at the UNR Innevation Center in downtown Reno
South Session: Thursday, September 1st from 10:00am-4:00pm
City of Las Vegas’ International Innovation Center in downtown Las Vegas

Affordable Housing Development 101

October 18, 2022
10:00am – 3:00pm at the Peppermill Reno

ElevateNV’s educational partner, Enterprise Community Partners, will deliver an engaging and participatory Affordable Housing Development 101 ahead of the 2022 Nevada Housing Conference. This ½ day event will provide content on affordable housing finance and development and ask participants to actively apply concepts to their own development experience and projects. Participants will learn about statewide, regional, and local opportunities and challenges facing affordable housing development and will have the opportunity to access immediate feedback and action planning specific to projects they are pursuing.

Interest Form

For more information and real-time updates on event dates, registration and RFP deadlines, submit an interest form here.

Member Spotlight

Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada (NHSSN)

This month, we speak with Michelle Merced, CEO/President of Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada (NHSSN). Founded in 1992, NHSSN provides affordable housing, homeownership, education, and neighborhood revitalization throughout Southern Nevada for low- to moderate-income individuals and families.

Michelle is passionate about helping her community. Listen in as she shares about current projects, including a new type of build they plan to complete in just 90 days, along with the impact NHSSN has made in Nevada over the last 30 years.

State update

In the spring, the Governor announced this historic investment of $500 million for affordable housing across 4 different categories, including affordable housing new development ($300 million), affordable housing preservation ($130 million), affordable homeownership ($30 million) and land acquisition for affordable housing ($40 million).

The Nevada Housing Division has been working diligently with the Governor’s Office to develop and open the application process. A pre-application period brought forward 234 projects for consideration. Of those 234 projects, 180 projects, and approximately $2.5 billion in requests across all 4 categories, were invited for applications. The Home Means Nevada Initiative invited 150 of the 180 projects to submit their requests within the categories of Affordable Housing Development and Affordable Housing Preservation.

State Infrastructure Bank Now Accepting Applications for Affordable Housing and Other Priority Infrastructure Projects

The State Infrastructure Bank is now accepting applications for qualified infrastructure projects. Launched in 2021, the Infrastructure Bank serves as a low-cost financing tool to assist local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofits with accessing capital. Loan will be available in the following categories:

Up to $40 million to support projects through an Infrastructure Matching Fund
Up to $20 million to support affordable housing projects in partnership with the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust
Up to $15 million to support the development of charter schools in low-income communities

Applications can be submitted here.

Federal Update

NHC is closely following the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Improvement Act Bill which includes important modifications to our number one production tool in Nevada, the low income housing tax credits.

For a comprehensive list of other key federal housing activities that NHC is following from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, please visit: https://nlihc.org/explore-issues/policy-priorities

Resources

NC Website Resources

Trusted reports, research and data to educate and empower you.

2022 Out Of Reach Report

The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released its 2022 Out of Reach Report. This annual publication highlights the gulf between the wages people earn and the price of decent rental housing in every state, metropolitan area, and county in the U.S. Download the full report here.

Newest Resources:

Affordable Housing How-To Guide: How to Use State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Affordable Housing Production & Preservation (July 2022)
National Low Income Housing Coalition – Out of Reach 2022 – Mini Book (July 2022)
State & Local Recovery Funds – Final Rule FAQ (July 2022)
Emergency Rental Assistance Toolkit (June 2022)

Member Moments

Reno Housing Authority Welcomes New Executive Director

Dr. Hilary Lopez has been appointed as the new Executive Director for the Reno Housing Authority. Hilary has more than 20 years’ experience in affordable housing finance and policy and said, “I have always had such high respect for the Housing Authority, its talented staff, and the great work it does serving our community’s most vulnerable households. To be able to lead RHA in its next chapter and build and expand its housing services is truly an honor.” Read the full press release here.

Nevada HAND Receives National Top 50 Rank

Nevada HAND was recently ranked 26 out of Affordable Housing Finance’s 2021 Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers. Nevada HAND is also the second highest-ranked nonprofit developer.

Wally Swenson, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Nevada HAND said, “We are proud to be providing a great deal of housing for those in need, but we also understand that there is a lot of work still to be done as we address our housing challenges.”

They currently have over 700 affordable housing units being made, and their latest multi-family communities will provide 480 affordable units to low-income seniors and families. Read the full article here.

More than 2,700 Affordable Housing Units to Be Created with $31.9 Million in FHLBank San Francisco AHP Grants

Last month, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco announced that $31.9 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants will go towards projects to help preserve and develop affordable housing units in Arizona, California and Nevada. The AHP grants are facilitated through members of FHLBSF partnering with nonprofits and affordable housing developers to submit applications in an annual funding competition. Read the full press release here.

Congratulations to two of our members who received grants for their projects:

Nevada Rural Housing Authority was awarded $900,000 for their Hafen Village I project in Mesquite, NV.
Coordinated Living of Southern Nevada was awarded $1,000,000 for their Pebble and Eastern Senior Apartments located in Paradise, NV.

Do You Have an Announcement?

If you’re an active member of NHC and have an announcement to share in an upcoming Newsletter, please contact amanda.lakin@nvhousingcoalition.org.

Partner
HELP of Southern Nevada

Business
GRN Vision Sustainable Design
KG Development Group
Nevada REALTORS

Nonprofit & Government
Nevada Clean Energy Fund
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Oregon Human Development Corporation

Friend/Advocate
Jeremy Golar
Zechariah Hillyard
Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong
Assemblywoman Clara Thomas

Connector
Praxis Consulting Group, LLC

Partner
Clearninghouse CDFI

Nonprofit & Government
Churchill County Social Services
Foresight Housing Partners
Nevada Legal Services
Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada

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