2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land - 89

" We have funding from Alameda County,
the state of California, and various foundations,
and we're working with HUD to release
the land, " Biggs says. " But the barriers HHS
has set up make it nearly impossible. It took
us $400,000 to $500,000 just to do the
application, and then HHS ignored it. Then
they told us to provide a signed contract and
agreement. "
Biggs says that although the law states a
financial plan is needed to provide site control,
HUD won't provide site control without guaranteed
funding.
" A lot of funders won't commit until you
have site control, " Biggs says. " Plus, the reversion
clause scares a lot of funders and developers. "
The
challenge for APC's new project is
that the organization needs to demonstrate a
stream of funding for the respite care site and
a stream of funding for the senior housing.
" GSA owns the property, and they agreed
to an early transfer of the respite center site,
followed by the senior housing site, " Biggs
says. " But HHS says we need to provide all
of this in one package, with a signed commitment
letter from every funder. Some of
our funding comes through LIHTC credits, so
we can't get past this. There's no one single
funder who would plop down 100 percent of
the financing for this [project]. "
Knowing that elderly homeless people
suffer while APC awaits approvals frustrates
Biggs. Still, he says, the Title V program is well
worth it, especially in high-cost locations such
as the Bay Area.
" There would be no way to buy the land on
Alameda Point without this program, " Biggs
says.
Advice for accessing Title V
Biggs says that developers who work with the
Title V program have overcome the challenges
that it poses.
" Developers should have confidence that
changes in the policy will come, especially
with the support of the Biden administration
and the national focus on the homeless crisis
that the pandemic brought to everyone's
attention, " Biggs says.
Even though Father Bill's and MainSpring
successfully used Title V for the new Housing
Resource Center, Yazwinski says meeting
some of the timelines of the program was difficult.
" We
had to have all our funding in place
within the first year after we signed our lease,
and we have three years to be operational, " he
says. " We're simultaneously doing renovations
on the old National Guard building and building
new housing on the site to meet the fall
2024 deadline. "
The nonprofit needed to generate the political
will for the project and address zoning
issues, along with NIMBYism (not in my backyard).
" The
site is part of a VA campus, which
was key to making it easier to get approval, "
he says.
Not in my backyard
Alameda Point confronted NIMBYism, too. Its
backers faced a lawsuit and a ballot measure
before getting community support.
" We did lots of outreach to address opposition
before we could get approvals, " Biggs
says.
But Shoemaker says he wouldn't pursue
another Title V project under its current limitations.
" The
work of building permanent supportive
housing is so hard already, " Shoemaker
says. " But free land isn't free when you have
to work this hard to access it. "
For other developers, Shoemaker suggests
proceeding with " open eyes. "
" Make sure you have a strong story, with
municipal support and support from your congressperson
and senator, " Shoemaker says.
" Get your local government to be your backstop
for financing partners to share the risk. "
If another federal property became available,
Yazwinski says he would apply again.
" Developing affordable housing, in general,
is really hard, and building permanent supportive
housing is almost impossible; then you
add in the timelines of the Title V program,
and I can see why very few surplus properties
end up serving homeless people, " Yazwinski
says. " Even though it took years, though, getting
free property is worth it. " UL
MICHELE LERNER is a freelance writer, editor, and author covering
real estate, personal finance, and business topics for such publications
as the Washington Post, USA Today, and others.
FALL 2023
URBAN LAND
89
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2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land

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