RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
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COMMUNITY ROOTS HOUSING | WA
Permanent Commercial and Residential Relocation project in a tight real estate market in Seattle, WA under a deadline
Community Roots Housing (Community Roots) is located in Seattle, Washington and believes in quality places to live for people from all walks of life. Community Roots develops and manages affordable homes for over 2,000 residents across the Seattle area. They offer affordable homes in nearly 50 buildings close to schools, jobs, and transit so families and individuals can set down roots and thrive.
Community Roots reached out to HousingToHome in Spring of 2021. They required a combination of permanent commercial and residential relocation by the end of Summer/beginning of Fall 2021 in order to demolish the current property and rebuild with 120 units of affordable housing. It was a short time frame for permanent relocation which requires 90 Day notice before households/commercial tenants need to move out and also a tight Seattle real estate market for finding housing and commercial spaces for current tenants. In addition, several of the tenants had rent arrears and the City regulations are very stringent in terms of relocation.
HousingToHome (HTH) met with commercial tenants and residents right away following conversations with Community Roots. We were able to quickly identify comparable residential and commercial units by speaking with local realtors and doing a lot of research of available housing/commercial spaces. We worked with Community Roots to shore up on rent arrears as a part of the relocation benefits due to commercial tenants and residents. We also immersed ourselves in Seattle relocation rules and regulations to ensure that all of them were met for commercial tenants and residents.
The result is that all commercial tenants and residents were relocated by the first week of September 2021 - ahead of schedule as the buildings were being boarded up by the end of September. All commercial tenants and residents were advised and given the appropriate relocation assistance and benefits. All affected parties found comparable and sustainable places to live and work and all arrears were settled between Community Roots and commercial tenants and residents. The old building has been demolished and construction is underway for the new affordable housing.
We look forward to working with Community Roots on their next project!
Jonathan Rose Companies | NY
Resident In-Place Temporary Relocation required during the height of COVID-19
JRC’s mission is to regenerate the fabric of communities, by creating Communities of Opportunity, in which every resident and employee has equal access to opportunity, environmental quality, health and wellbeing. JRC believes that every resident of every community deserves an equal opportunity to thrive. We apply the transformative power of connected, integrative, well-designed, thoughtfully programmed places to restore the balance between humans and nature and increase well-being. JRC’s goals is for each project to be a replicable model of environmental, social and economic responsibility, creating plans, buildings, communities and investments that learn from and contribute to the growing body of positive solutions to the challenges of the 21st century cities.
JRC was one of HousingToHome’s (HTH) first clients and the first project that we staffed up for in 2020. JRC acquired Thessalonica Court Apartments (Thess) in the Winter of 2020 and the 191 unit property was in need of immediate rehabilitation. The renovations required day work meaning that residents had to be out of their homes during the day and return in the evenings. This work also had to take place during the height of COVID-19 and the population at Thess is mostly families and Spanish speaking.
HTH stepped right in and hired and trained a local Spanish speaking staff member with experience working with social services in New York City. (Spoiler alert that this HTH employee has gone on to finish relocation work at Thess and has taken another relocation job with HTH in Annapolis, MD beginning in 2022). JRC and HTH worked together to build out COVID-19 safe “day pods” at Thess for families to be able to stay safely during the day while construction was happening in their homes. We provided lunch stipends for families who were out for the day due to construction and assisted families with the packing up of their kitchens and bathrooms in preparation for construction.
This project was completed on-schedule and under budget. JRC and HTH worked very diligently to keep staff and residents safe during construction happening at the height of COVID-19 cases in New York City. We also collaborated as a team to produce and standardize relocation documents for Thess and future projects together.
JRC and HTH are currently working on three additional relocation projects in Maryland and Michigan. HTH truly appreciates the partnership with JRC!
Nashua Housing Redevelopment Authority | NH
Permanent Relocation with large bedroom sizes and families who wanted to stay in the community of Nashua, NH
The Nashua Housing and Redevelopment Authority (NH&RA) is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, one of whom is a housing authority resident. The Mayor of Nashua appoints the board members to a five-year term. The Commissioners serve without compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred during official Authority business. The day-to-day management of the Authority is vested in the Executive Director selected by the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners is responsible for approving the agency's annual budget and to determine and interpret the policies that govern the Authority, subject to the mandates and the limits imposed by State and Federal law.
NH&RA engaged HousingToHome (HTH) to assist in the permanent relocation of families at Bronstein Apartments. The current Bronstein Apartments - 48 public housing units - is being demolished and replaced with 216 multi-family units. HTH was charged with the permanent relocation of all households at Bronstein Apartments. Permanent relocation is defined as residents being relocated for 12 months or more (not necessarily permanently). All residents of Bronstein Apartments have the right to return when the new units are completed at the property. There were a number of households living in 3, 4, and 5 bedrooms which are difficult to find comparable housing. Also, many households wanted to remain in the Nashua, NH area; had poor credit issues; and received Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) that they needed to utilize for their relocation unit.
HTH took on the relocation of Bronstein Apartments households right away and engaged a Realtor who was able to begin identifying and assisting with the leasing up of units in the Nashua, NH area and beyond. There were large bedroom sizes at Bronstein Apartments and the Realtor was able to also identify and secure large bedroom sizes in the Nashua, NH area. HTH and NH&RA worked closely to process and distribute the TPVs for residents - we dropped off paperwork; interviewed households; collected paperwork; and made sure all families secured their TPVs. We were able to find many comparable unit options for residents in the Nashua, NH area and in other geographies desired by residents. We also worked with residents to improve their credit scores and worked with local landlords who understood and approved off below average credit scores.
All families at Bronstein Apartments were relocated by the end of Summer 2021. Families are mostly happily relocated and many will return to the newly reconstructed Bronstein Apartments. HTH stays in touch with all residents on a monthly basis and looks forward to being a part of bringing everyone home to Bronstein Apartments when the construction is completed on the property.