Five homes in the newly formed Heights Community Development Corporation will receive a fresh future thanks to an infusion of funds from Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). They announced a $166,280 grant for the
Binghampton Development Corporation last week that will be used to acquire and rehabilitate the five vacant homes. BDC is accepting the grant on behalf of the also newly formed Heights Community Development Corporation.
Once rehabbed, the homes will be rented at affordable rates to community residents "of very low income" -- those who earn less than 50 percent of the area’s median income
All five homes are in the Highland Heights community, where more than one in five homes currently sit empty. Revenue from the rental properties will help Heights CDC fund future projects. The homes are being rehabilitated in partnership with Christ Community Church and the Heights Coalition.
“We are especially pleased to see these funds used not only to help individual families but to create an ongoing source of revenue for the new development district, so that good works can multiple in the Highland Heights community,” said THDA Executive Director Ralph Perrey.
With Heights CDC still in its formation stage, it was Binghampton CDC that applied for and was awarded the THDA grant, with the stated intention of providing the funds to Heights CDC. In recent years, Binghampton CDC has renovated or built 94 properties in the Highland Heights area, including two apartment buildings.
Funding for the grant comes from the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund (HTF), which was created by the THDA Board of Directors to provide financial support for innovative, affordable initiatives that serve the housing needs of Tennessee’s most vulnerable residents.
The Housing Trust Fund receives no tax dollars but is replenished by revenue from THDA’s Great Choice home loan program. HTF grants are awarded through a competitive application process. Since 2006, THDA has provided more than $72 million in HTF grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations across the state.
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