Residents of Pierce County who worry about the creeping cost of living may find some relief with the recent announcement from the Pierce County Community Development Corporation (PCCDC). The organization has released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) aimed at safeguarding affordable housing within the community. The funding specifically targets co-operative-owned properties that are vulnerable to redevelopment or economic displacement pressures.
With a total of $750,000 up for grabs from the PCCDC loan fund, interested parties are being encouraged to step forward. The full NOFA document and application are available online for review. However, there's a catch: to be considered at the October 15 PCCDC Board meeting, materials must be submitted no later than October 10th.
The funding, prioritizing resident-owned manufactured home parks, will ideally bolster both housing affordability and community stability. It's an initiative designed to help keep a roof over the heads of those whose incomes hover at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI). The park acquisitions financed by this initiative are required to be located in Pierce County, benefiting the populations within and including the boundaries of Lakewood and Tacoma.
Given the growing concern over affordable housing in the region, this initiative represents a directed effort by PCCDC to address the issue head-on. Eligibility for this funding hinges on the criteria that half of the residents in the parks identified for acquisition must be living at or below the stipulated income benchmark, making this a clear bid to assist those in the most need. The details of the application process, stressing the importance of timing in the submission, echo the urgency of the housing situation faced by the eligible residents.
