City to provide HOME-ARP funds to Gospel Inc. for Gospel Village affordable rental units

City staff presented a HOME-American Rescue Plan Act loan agreement to provide funding to Gospel Inc. for construction of additional low-income rental housing at Gospel Village.

Staff explained the city received a HOME-ARP allocation and that the commission previously split available HOME-ARP funds between two projects; the Gospel Village loan represents half of the city’s remaining allocation. Gospel Village plans two initial buildings of 24 units each (totaling 48 units) on its existing campus; the units are one-bedroom, one-bath and targeted for extremely low-income households (staff said units are expected to be at 30% of area median income or lower).

The loan structure described by staff is a conditional loan that will be forgiven after 20 years provided Gospel Inc. constructs the buildings according to approved plans, complies with local requirements and maintains recorded affordability restrictions for the applicable period. Staff said one-person households at 30% AMI would have an annual income threshold of about $16,050 (as cited during the meeting) to illustrate eligibility for extremely low-income targeting.

Commissioners asked about site layout and proximity to existing units; staff described the buildings’ placement on the south side of Gospel Inc.’s campus with parking and driveway access to Main Street. The transcript shows staff characterized the project as focused on people at risk of homelessness and as a continuation of Gospel Inc.’s existing services.

The recorded action in the excerpt was staff presentation and clarification of loan terms; the transcript did not show the final vote on the loan agreement in the provided excerpt.