Clark County passes $160M for more affordable housing
Southern Nevada lacks 85,000 units to help house those with lower incomes
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) -Clark County granted $160 million in funding for affordable housing projects across Southern Nevada, and the non-profit Nevada H.A.N.D. said it’s working quickly to build homes and help meet the need.
Nevada H.A.N.D. is one of the organizations recently granted funding by the Clark County Commission, managing 35 communities across Clark County and providing housing for 8,000 people. The organization hopes to help 2,000 more people in upcoming years with new and developing projects.
Decatur Commons is the latest project to be fully open by this summer, and has already received overwhelming demand.
“The senior community-- we have closed our interest list because of an overwhelming demand on that property. We had close to 3200 individuals on the interest list,” said Marc Wilcher, district director with Nevada H.A.N.D. The property only has 240 senior units.
“The demand for not only this community, but our affordable housing throughout the entire Valley has been overwhelming. We’ve had people visit our home office on a regular basis, we have many communities that are receiving phone calls on a daily basis just to get into our community. It’s as if we just can’t build fast enough,” Wilcher said.
Nevada H.A.N.D. helps households who earn 30% to 80% of the median income of the area, or less than $44,000 a year.
“45% of Nevadans are renters, and oftentimes they face the brunt of the burden in terms of housing affordability,” said Wally Swenson, vice president of corporate affairs. “Our average rents are $733 a month, so drastically lower than the $1,600 $1,700 monthly average,” Swenson said.
Swenson said Southern Nevada leaders are responsive to the need for more housing, but the work is far from over.
“In Nevada, it’s resources to continue to build affordable housing. It’s also long term rental assistance,” Swenson said.
For more information on housing resources with Nevada H.A.N.D., click here: Nevada H.A.N.D.,
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