New Construction of PSH Units

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has awarded $2.6 million in state HOME-ARP funds to Greensboro's Affordable Housing Management for the new construction of 16 permanent supportive housing units on W. Vandalia Road for homeless individuals and families.

Also, $650,000 was awarded as a capital reserve to subsidize the property operations due to the expected low rental income. The City has made a preliminary commitment of $1,667,408 in HOME-ARP funds to this project.

Affordable Housing Management Inc. will own and operate the property and Greensboro Urban Ministry will provide case management and supportive services.

Construction is expected to begin in early summer 2024. 

Former Regency Inn Site

The City has engaged with Step Up on Second, a nationally recognized leader in the development and operation of PSH projects using a Housing First approach, to target the highest acuity individual homeless population.

Step Up has confirmed a purchase agreement for the former Regency Inn site at 2701 N. O'Henry Blvd. and a three-year commitment for funding for services for up to 57 PSH units. Also, the Greensboro Housing Authority has committed up to 60 permanent supportive housing project-based vouchers to support tenant rents at the site.

Development of this property will allow for expedited PSH mobilization making it an effective use of funds with an immediate impact rather than constructing a new facility.

Step Up will operate the property and provide case management and supportive services in conjunction with local resources.

Site rehabilitation is expected to begin in early 2024.

According to national studies, PSH for those with the highest needs often results in substantial decreases in costs for individual emergency room, detox, psychiatric and shelter services, as well as fewer incarcerations and police/fire response calls.

For example, these are some average costs assessed across the US when emergency medical services are called for for one person:

• $511 per ambulance trip
• $400 per fire response
• $1,200 per emergency room care (not including diagnostics and interventions).

It’s not unusual for a handful of people in a city to use these and other emergency services hundreds of times in a year, costing a community hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The future of PSH in Greensboro is a vital part of the City’s Housing GSO 10-year affordable housing plan. Housing GSO encourages the City to dedicate funding to support the Housing First approach.  The basis of Housing First is to house the homeless as soon as possible, then build an understanding that permanent, safe housing is a necessary first step toward connecting them with community services to address their homelessness.

All this starts by working with housing support programs already in existence in the community to ensure all are aligned with the Housing First approach.

Local service providers the City often partners with include:

• Cone Health
• Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
• Guilford County
• Greensboro Housing Authority
• Greensboro Housing Coalition
• Greensboro Urban Ministries
• Interactive Resource Center
• PACE of the Triad
• Triad Adult and Pediatric Medicine
• Housing providers

November 2021 Presentation to City Council
Affordable Housing Development: Acquisition for Permanent Supportive Housing Site

Other Resources 

• October 13, 2021 memo to City Council about the Regency Inn and Suites Motel project
• Cost Benefit Analyses