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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Getting our feet wet with affordable housing

The very first job for the HSC was to decide what kind of project we were interested in for our partnership with LHOP.  There were a lot of different directions we could choose to take.

LHOP's project on Strawberry Street, in Lancaster City, quickly caught our interest.  On Strawberry Street, LHOP was able to purchase a condemned run-down property, completely renovate it, and then sell it at an affordable price to a first-time homebuyer.

Anyone who brings neglected historic properties up to code quickly figures out that the purchase price plus the renovation can easily be more than the expected final selling price of the house.  The bottom line, all too often, just doesn't work and the property is used until it falls apart, then it's abandoned and eventually demolished.

To see more pictures from 23 W Strawberry St click here.

On Strawberry Street, LHOP was able to solve this problem by working with IMPACT! Missions.  IMPACT! is able to do renovations for around half the cost of regular contractors because they use volunteer labor from local congregations and often get donated materials, as well.  Suddenly, the economics work.

We were particularly interested in this model because the investment - the purchase price of the house and the cost of renovations - comes back when the house is sold.  Then, another property can be purchased and the process starts over.  A revolving fund, essentially.  

The same $100,000 investment cycles through the community again and again, encouraging home ownership and neighborhood pride.  This is why we chose a similar approach in Columbia.

The answer to our next question - where? - is in the next post.  

Monday, April 14, 2014

Our history

Our story begins in in 2012, when the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership received a grant from the Community Foundation to tackle affordable housing in Columbia and in Lancaster City.  LHOP matched the Community Foundation funds and announced that it would invest $100,000 in each community.

Because that's both a significant investment and a limited pot of money, LHOP asked Columbia to pull a committee together to help decide how to get the most 'bang for the buck.'  The Housing Steering Committee - the HSC - first met in August of 2013.

The committee has about a dozen people with many different areas of interest and expertise.  People who specialize in economic development, representatives of the faith-based and service communities, urban planners, borough residents, and borough administrators.  Local business people have also joined in the discussion.

That's the beginning; we've come a long way since then!