The Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has rolled out a new funding opportunity aimed at developers who are ready to lay down the framework for affordable housing options geared toward middle-income families. The Memphis Middle-Income Housing Pilot Program, also called MI-Pilot, is spearheading this incentive, offering financial backing for the construction or renovation of 2-6-unit buildings like duplexes and townhomes, as well as smaller multifamily homes and single-family infill houses. With an emphasis on building gentle urban density, this initiative is part of a broader objective that supports infill development for the promotion of homeownership among middle-income classes.
Sticking to the script of the Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan, alongside the Accelerate Memphis Plan and the Memphis and Shelby County Joint Housing Policy Plan, the MI-Pilot aims to beef up the local housing stock for residents earning 80-120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). This strategic move has been designed to not only generate a variety of both owner-occupied and rental units but also to efficiently utilize a combination of funds including a series of grants and loans that fit the bill for developers. Speaking about the program's far-reaching implications, HCD Director Ashley Cash noted, "With that goal in mind, we are launching this pilot program, which we believe will scale successfully as we move forward."
To get the word out and the ball rolling, HCD Vice Director Felicia Harris — in sync with peers Amanda O'Meara and Ebunoluwa Odeyemi from the Planning and Policy Department — recently orchestrated a get-together for developers at the Orange Mound Library. The meet-up gave approximately 80 local developers from both non-profit and for-profit backgrounds a chance to dive deep into the pilot program's particulars, pick up how to toss their hats into the ring for funding and nail down the program's nitty-gritty. According to the city's announcement, an initial pot of one million dollars is up for grabs to developers until funds tap out, with potential awards ranging from fifty to half a million dollars conditioned on project specifics.
Among the attendees was Jimmy Tucker of Self-Tucker Associates, a renowned architecture firm that has had its hands in various city projects. Tucker commented, "an incredible opportunity to revitalize some of the neighborhoods that have vacant sites, and we hope it has a successful implementation so it can be expanded for the benefit of all Memphians." His nod to the city's initiative, especially the strategy to engage local developers in such an informative session, underscores the program's potential for synergy and success.
Facing a familiar scenario that sees too many cities grappling with housing crunches, Memphis's tight housing situation has been further tightened courtesy of COVID-19 ramifications and a surge in short-term rental popularity. Market forces, amplified by outsiders snapping up properties, haven't been kind to middle-income denizens, as evidenced by soaring housing costs which typically leave them shut out from most government-backed housing aids. The MI-Pilot is poised to take a crack at these obstacles, carving out more lanes for homeownership and rentals that won't break the bank for this often-overlooked demographic.
