Struggling to pay rent? Affordable Meridian apartment complex would help low-wage earners
A housing nonprofit said there is “a huge need” in Meridian for affordable housing.
The Housing Co., created by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association to build and operate affordable rentals around the state, has proposed building 52 affordable apartments on Ustick Road, near Linder Road.
The Housing Co. said affordable housing is desperately needed in Meridian, where the average two-bedroom rent is $1,842, according to rent.com, but the median renter can afford only $1,000 a month.
According to Affordablehousing.com, a listing service, there was one “affordable” apartment for rent in the city on Tuesday afternoon— a one-bedroom, one-bath unit for $1,030.
The Housing Co. project would include six buildings with six apartments and two buildings with eight apartments. They would all be two stories high. The project would be on 3.8 acres at 1160 W. Ustick Road.
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Benjamin Cushman, spokesperson for the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, said the apartments would be targeted to people with incomes below 60% of the area median income. In 2019, the estimated renter median income in Ada County was $41,601, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Sixty percent of that is just under $25,000 per year.
There are 200 affordable, or income-limited, units in Meridian now, Cushman said in an email. The Ustick development would increase that by 25%. There is far more demand for them than there is supply.
“There are approximately 2,374 affordable rental units in Ada County,” Cushman said. “The vacancy rate for those rent-restricted apartments is currently 0%.”
The project would be funded with the help of federal affordable-housing tax credits to developers and investors.
The Housing Co. requires income verification, criminal background checks, credit checks, student verification and household-composition verification, said Erin Anderson, a Housing Co. representative, during a Meridian Planning and Zoning meeting on Thursday, Jan. 6.
“A common myth is that people who live in affordable housing won’t fit in my neighborhood,” Anderson said. “But the fact is that people who need affordable housing already live and work in your community.”
The Housing Co. has a variety of affordable housing complexes throughout Idaho. This would be the first Housing Co. project in Meridian, according to its website.
During the hearing, Anderson shared three profiles of hypothetical people who may qualify to rent at the project.
One is a customer service representative who needs a one-bedroom apartment for $741 per month. Another is a single mother, a cashier, with two children, who needs a two-bedroom for $946. The third is a four-person household that needs a three-bedroom apartment for $1,089. This family may have two adults working in the food service industry earning just above minimum wage.
The Meridian City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at City Hall. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the council approve the project.
“Staff finds that the specific use of affordable housing, no matter the type, is a greatly needed use within the city and is in itself its own residential use,” said Joe Dodson, associate city planner, during the planning meeting.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The Housing Co. was created by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association but is not run by it. An earlier version of this story misstated the association’s role.
