The Delaware State Housing Authority marked the completion of renovations at Liberty Court, a public housing site in Dover. The event also recognizied the authority’s 20th year participating in Moving to Work , a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program.
Many of the residents at Liberty Court participate in the MTW program.
DSHA Director Anas Ben Addi was joined at the event by Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester and State Senator Trey Paradee.
“The achievements we are celebrating today are just two examples of the hard work our staff and partners do each day to provide Delawareans with stable, affordable housing,” Director Ben Addi said. “We are proud of our accomplishments and will continue finding ways to improve our public housing sites and help more of our residents become economically self-sufficient.”
The Liberty Court property was built in 1974 as a privately-owned and market-rate apartment complex and was purchased by DSHA in 1989. From 1990 to 1993, DSHA substantially rehabilitated the property and created 108 public housing subsidized units.
In 2015, an internal inspection on one of the buildings at Liberty Court found areas of moisture within stucco on the exterior of the building was causing the interior walls and framing of the building to swell. When other buildings at the property were inspected, similar issues were found. At the time, it was determined that a major rehabilitation of the property was needed to correct the problem.
Construction at Liberty Court began in July of 2017 and was completed in November 2018 with all 100 units leased.
Renovations included: demolition of all residential buildings and construction of new buildings on existing foundations.
The renovation project did require DSHA to lower the number of units at Liberty Court from 108 to 100 in order to provide a new fire lane at the complex in compliance with fire marshal requirements.
DSHA decided to pursue the support of HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to finance the renovation project. RAD allows for more funding flexibility including the use of tax credits and other public funds to maintain and improve public housing.
The cost of renovations at Liberty Court totaled nearly $18 million with financing provided through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and DSHA’s Affordable RentalHousing and HOME programs. WSFS Bank also provided bond financing totaling $10.1 million and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank Pittsburgh) provided $650,000 through its Affordable Housing Program.
Last week’s event also celebrated 20 successful years of DSHA helping Delawareans become economically self-sufficient through the MTW program. In 1999, HUD chose DSHA as one of 24 public housing agencies in the country to participate in MTW. Today, DSHA is one of just 39 public housing agencies, out of more than 3,400 total in the country, to participate in the MTW program.
Under the program, participants are allowed five years to successfully complete the MTW program. In those five years, participants pay rent totaling 35 percent of their adjusted monthly income. DSHA creates an escrow account for the resident and invests all rent paid over the 35 percent limit into that savings account.
The participant is then required to work a certain number of hours each year of the MTW program and must complete a financial literacy course. At the end of the five years, if they have successfully completed all requirements, the participant then has access to 100 percent of the escrow account and can use that money to find housing at fair market rent or buy a home.
Shantel Emory, a former MTW participant who successfully completed the program in 2018, was able to use about $7,800 saved during her five years with MTW to purchase a home in magnolia. “The MTW program gave me the financial stability I needed to achieve my goals and find secure housing for my family,” she said. “Without this program, it would have taken meseveral more years to save enough money to buy my first home. I am grateful DSHA offers this program in our state.”
Since 1999, DSHA has disbursed more than $3.3 million in Moving to Work savings to 995 families who successfully completed the program. Of those families, 698 moved into fair market rental housing and 297 bought a home. MTW often pairs well with DSHA’s homeownership programs, which can provide homebuyers with low-interest mortgages and down payment and closing cost assistance.
