$1.7M approved to add affordable housing in NW
Washington County’s plan approved by panel of JPs
FAYETTEVILLE — A plan to spend about $1.7 million in federal funds on affordable housing was endorsed Tuesday by Washington County’s justices of the peace.
Meeting for the first time in 2023, the Quorum Court’s Finance & Budget Committee recommended approval of an ordinance earmarking $1.7 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance grant money for a partnership to construct affordable rental housing units in the county.
The proposal will be sent on to the full Quorum Court for approval at its Feb. 16 meeting.
According to information from the county, the money will be provided to partner with the Excellerate Foundation in the form of pass-through grants.
Jeff Webster, president and CEO of the foundation, said about $1.4 million will be used for the affordable housing project and the remaining $300,000 will go to organizations in Washington County that provide people with help in achieving “housing stability” through rental assistance, legal aid, counseling and other services.
Webster told the justices of the peace the money for the affordable housing project will go toward the construction of a housing project that targets households within the Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s family income guidelines for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
Having the county funding will allow the foundation and Washington County to leverage additional state and federal funds, donations, employer contributions and other sources.
The total amount available for the project could reach $30 million, Webster told the justices of the peace.
Webster said the foundation has worked with Benton County, Bentonville and other local governments on similar projects, including the Cobblestone Farm Community on Wedington Drive in Fayetteville.
According to information from the foundation, the development is situated immediately south of Cobblestone Farm at Wedington Drive and 54th Avenue in west Fayetteville.
The community will be home to nearly 100 families, residing mostly in duplexes that range between $365 and $625 in monthly rent that is protected for 35 years.
Also Tuesday, the justices of the peace recommended approving a resolution supporting efforts to raise $25,000 to bring the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit to Washington County.
The traveling exhibit is a tribute to all who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and from illnesses related to those attacks. This would be the exhibit’s first visit to Arkansas.
According to information provided by Ben Dykes, Washington County’s veterans services officer, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation was established to honor the life of New York firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others when America was attacked.
The mission of the foundation is to provide support to those men and women who continue to risk life and limb in the line of duty by providing mortgage-free homes. The organization seeks to support catastrophically injured veterans and first responders, and Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children.
In 2022, the foundation established a national campaign aimed at eradicating veteran homelessness by providing comprehensive assistance such as mental health, skills training and addiction support services.
The organization says it is committed to sound fiscal management, with 94 cents of every dollar going to support programs and services.
According to the information provided by Dykes, the exhibit is a high-tech, 83-foot tractor-trailer that transforms into a 1,100-square-foot interactive museum to educate people about Sept. 11, 2001. Members of the New York Fire Department, which lost 343 of its members on 9/11, provide first-hand accounts of the day and its aftermath.
Visitors can hear audio recordings of first responder radio transmissions and see one-of-akind artifacts, including pieces of the World Trade Center and items recovered from the rubble after the Twin Towers collapsed.
Dykes said he has reached an agreement that will allow the exhibit to use space at the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Dykes said the exhibit would be in Washington County from May 18 through May 21 if the funding is secured.
Jeff Webster, president and CEO of the foundation, said about $1.4 million will be used for the affordable housing project and the remaining $300,000 will go to organizations... that provide people with help in achieving “housing stability...”