Here’s how affordable housing grants currently work in Lawrence, in a nutshell: In the fall, developers say what projects they want to build. The city picks some it wants to fund. And it gives them sales tax money in the form of a grant. It’s a familiar process for the city and its Affordable Housing Advisory Board. But, as AHAB member Monte Soukup admits, “if we want to try to incentivize or get specific projects, then this process doesn’t really do a great job.” But what if AHAB could say what kind of housing it wanted and tell developers, “Bring me a project”? What if, instead of a grant, it could give a developer a low-interest loan that could recharge the trust fund as it gets repaid? And what if developers didn’t have to wait until the fall to apply?
Read more: LJWorld
