Tour puts Carson City’s affordable housing in limelight

The Nevada Rural Housing Authority highlighted some of its affordable housing successes during a recent visit by Jimmy Stracner, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Stracner’s visit focused on Richard’s Crossing, a 39-unit, affordable housing development in Carson City NRHA owns and operates. He was joined during the tour by Tony Ramirez, HUD field office director based in Reno.

The two HUD leaders toured the facility’s computer lab, library, job training center, and life skills counseling room, and learned about the on-site services that help tenants maintain housing while moving toward self-sufficiency.

“HUD is passionate about getting people to work and into self-sufficiency,” Stracner said during the visit. “Richard’s Crossing is a beautiful building that is helping people do just that thanks to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority’s consistently high performing status among HUD public housing authorities.”

Leading the tour was NRHA’s deputy director Bill Brewer, who discussed the housing challenges low income Northern Nevadans face.

“Some teachers can’t afford to live in the counties they teach in,” Brewer explained. “They are traveling long distances to reach their classrooms because there’s so little housing available to them. Northern Nevada’s economy is booming, but the housing needs of our expanding workforce are not keeping pace.”

Brewer explained NRHA is tackling this housing crunch in several ways. In addition to Richard’s Crossing, he discussed NRHA’s Home At Last program, which provided down payment assistance loans to 1,022 families last year so they could afford to purchase a home. He also highlighted partnerships NRHA has with Carson City and Douglas County that’s providing decision makers there with potential solutions to increase the availability of affordable housing. Stracner closed the discussion by applauding NRHA’s efforts.

“Finding affordable housing for people is a unique mission and an important mission,” he said. “NRHA is a strong housing authority that is doing good work.”