Thirty percent. That’s the traditional metric of housing affordability, which holds that housing should cost no more than 30% of a family’s income. By that measure, about 55% of U.S. neighborhoods would be considered “affordable” for the average household.
When you factor in the cost of transportation, however, the percentage of neighborhoods that the typical family can afford falls to 26%, according to the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a nonprofit research group based in Chicago. Transportation is most household’s second-biggest expense, after housing.
The conundrum is that many lower-income families and individuals can’t afford to live in the more desirable areas served by good public transit. They are forced to choose neighborhoods whose housing they can afford, but which have limited transit service, or none at all. As a result, their housing costs may be 30% or less of total income, but the high cost of commuting to work makes their daily living costs unaffordable.
Transit-oriented developments help address this problem. TODs place housing at or near rail and bus service nodes and routes. This can, in many cases, enable lower-income residents to reduce the cost of their commute to work, making their total housing and transportation budget fall more in line with the traditional affordability metric.
Enterprise Community Loan Fund, an affiliate of the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, recently closed three deals that will create 462 renovated or newly constructed apartments in neighborhoods served by Denver’s transit system:
- Crosswinds at Arista, a $1.8 million loan to acquire vacant land in Broomfield, with rapid bus routes to Denver and Boulder. Sponsoring developer Gorman & Company plans to develop 159 one-, two-, and three-bedroom affordable apartments.
- Bonsai Apartments, a $2 million loan to acquire a nursery in Sheridan, 10 miles south of Denver, where Medici Development will build 149 new affordable apartments.
- Johnson & Wales Family Housing, a $5 million loan to acquire two student housing buildings on the former Johnson & Wales University campus. Archway Community Investment plans to turn the dorms into 154 affordable rental units. Buses with frequent rush-hour headways go right to downtown Denver.
The deals were financed through the Denver Regional Transit-Oriented Development Fund. Since 2010, the fund, a partnership among state and local housing agencies, banks, philanthropic institutions, and community development financial institutions (like Enterprise Community Loan Fund), has invested $50 million to renovate or build more than 2,000 affordable homes in the seven-county metro area. (All properties must meet Enterprise Green Communities criteria for the affordable housing sector. ) As loans are repaid, the capital goes toward new acquisitions to increase the supply of affordable homes near transit.
Seems like a pretty good model for other metro areas to adopt, don’t you think?
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Sep 13, 2010
Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver
The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Aug 11, 2010
Brown Craig Turner opens senior living studio
Baltimore-based architecture and design firm Brown Craig Turner has significantly expanded its housing design capabilities and expertise with the launch of its new senior living studio.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Morphosis builds 'floating' house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans foundation
Morphosis Architects, under the direction of renowned architect and UCLA professor Thom Mayne, has completed the first floating house permitted in the U.S. for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.The FLOAT House is a new model for flood-safe, affordable, and sustainable housing that is designed to float securely with rising water levels.
| Aug 11, 2010
Bovis Lend Lease, Webcor among nation's largest multifamily contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Multifamily Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Looney Ricks Kiss Architects wins industry honors for mixed-use, multifamily, and residential designs
Looney Ricks Kiss Architects won four Aurora Awards for its architectural designs during the recent Southeast Building Conference in Orlando, including a Grand Aurora Award for a Mixed Use Multi Family community located in the West Village area of Dallas.
