The Willow Springs Community Foundation was awarded special incentives Friday that will allow it to develop 20 housing units during a rehabilitation at West Plains.
The project includes renewal of a 20-unit, multi-family housing complex, formerly known as the Seminole Apartments at Thayer and Seminole streets. Plans call for two- and three-bedroom apartments, along with a playground and dog park. It will be called Thayer Heights and was one of 24 projects approved in the state.
The Missouri Housing Development Corporation okayed the project on Friday. The foundation was awarded about $2.05 million from the federally funded HOME program and another $500,000 from the Missouri Housing Trust Fund.
“We are very excited about the Thayer Heights project,” said Dean Aye of the foundation when meeting with the West Plains City Council on Sept. 18. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the Willow Springs Community Foundation and will have a positive impact on our ability to serve residents in both Willow Springs and West Plains,” he said.
The federally funded HOME program provides a financing source for several eligible activities that increase the supply of affordable housing for low and very low income persons. Funding is determined annually by HUD and depends on congressional appropriation. One of these activities is the acquisition and rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing. As the HOME administrator for Missouri, the Missouri Housing Development Commission uses a portion of its annual HOME allocation to finance rental production at a very low interest rate, which results in rents that are affordable to low income families.
The Missouri Housing Trust Fund was created by the state Legislature in 1994 to help meet the housing needs of very low income families and individuals. The Missouri Housing Development Commission administers the Trust Fund, which provides funding for a variety of housing needs, such as homeless prevention; rehab or new construction of rental housing, rental assistance; and home repair to eligible organizations providing housing assistance to Missourians.