Due to the successful partnership between OPWDD and NYC Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) in the development of affordable housing for people receiving services through OPWDD’s Integrated Supportive Housing (ISH) program, Commissioner Neifeld is pleased to announce the expansion of operating funding for units in projects funded through HCR.
For the first time, OPWDD will be issuing a second application round to request Letters of Support for projects intending to apply for HCR capital funding which are seeking set aside units for people with I/DD. The Letters of Support will demonstrate OPWDD’s support through ongoing Housing Subsidies and other OPWDD approved services for tenants of the OPWDD units in newly created supportive housing opportunities. It should be noted that this application round will be only for projects which do not require OPWDD capital.
It is expected that, moving forward, OPWDD will hold two Integrated Supportive Housing funding rounds each year – one in the late spring which will include a capital funding option, and one in the winter which will generally only offer Letters of Support for Housing Subsidy commitments. These funding opportunities align with the HCR Multi-family (9%) capital funding rounds.
Affordable housing projects that are eligible to apply for ongoing operating funding under this upcoming application round must have the following characteristics:
- They are proposing to have supportive units receiving preferential tenancy for people eligible for OPWDD services;
- They have a specific site identified and a distinct plan to secure the site within a reasonable amount of time if it is not already;
- They feature a source of public funding administered by HCR in their underwriting;
- There is an approved OPWDD provider in good standing as part of the project team; and
- There is an experienced developer or consultant involved with affordable/supportive housing participating in the project
Awards are subject to regional priorities, programmatic need, and statewide fiscal viability.
Additional programmatic requirements can be found through the following links to the Spring 2022 capital RFA and Term Sheet. Although capital will not be awarded through the upcoming RFA, the same programmatic and project development expectations will be required.
The next OPWDD funding round will be announced by the end of calendar year 2022. Projects teams can contact the OPWDD Housing Initiatives unit to request a mandatory Technical Assistance call or to ask questions at either [email protected] or 518-473-1973.
