The number of people waiting in line numbered in the hundreds this morning before GHURA opened.

Applicants will be placed on a waiting list for Section 8 or public housing assistance and will be selected based on GHURA criteria which are: being a U.S. citizen with a job, a U.S. citizen who is unemployed, a Compact of Free Association [COFA] citizen with a job, COFA citizen without a job.

Applicants should bring with them birth certificates and social security cards for everyone in the household and a picture ID of all adults in the household.

By the end of the day, GHURA expects to have seen several thousand applications for Section 8 housing.

To help those prospective homeowners, the Guam Association of Realtors will hold a housing opportunity forum from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

The event is free to the public and will provide information catering to Guam’s workforce and first-time homebuyers.

Homeownership on Guam is only at about 48 percent, one of the lowest percentages nationwide, while the overall U.S. Census Bureau lists home ownership at 65 percent, according to the association. Over the last decade, prices of homes on Guam have increased, and while sales have also grown, homes have become less affordable for those in the low- to middle-income workforce.

Participants in the forum include:
- Guam Bankers Association
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Veterans Administrations
- Micronesian Self-Help Housing Corporation
- Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority
- Guam Housing Corporation

“The federal grants received today will provide the necessary support to help expand housing opportunities for families with low-income on Guam,” said Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo in a press release. “It is important that we continue to support affordable housing programs on our island, and these grants will go towards helping those in most need of housing assistance. I commend Governor Calvo’s administration for its efforts to secure these funds, and I look forward to them benefiting our community.”

Calvo noted that such programs will help make building homes a reality for many families who otherwise couldn’t afford to build a home.

“It’s funding like this that goes a long way to helping our affordable housing initiative bring the dream of home ownership closer to people who couldn’t normally afford a home,” said Calvo.

Breakdown of the Federal Housing Grant

The grants will be administered through the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority. It was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through three different programs.

•$3,085,838 was awarded through the Community Development Block Grants program, which provides financial assistance to develop urban communities. These funds support suitable housing and living environments, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals.

•$1,237,796 was awarded through the HOME program, which provides financial support to local governments to fund programs that expand the supply of affordable housing to low- and very low-income families.

•$140,854 was awarded through the Emergency Shelter Grants program, which provides financial support to improve the quality and number of emergency homeless shelters available.

Housing Initiative

The Calvo administration’s housing initiative includes the goal of a collective effort on the part of the government and several community stakeholders to make 3,000 affordable homes by 2017.

This summer, Calvo created the Affordable Housing Coordinating Council, which will administer the government’s plans for affordable housing. The administration, the Legislature and partners from the public and private sector are represented in the council, according to the Pacific Daily News files.

The plan includes using creative solutions to solve the affordable housing crisis, including working with federal, nonprofit and private industry partners.

Through a five-year plan, the government and Chamorro Land Trust will identify properties that can be developed for residential homes, files state.

Calvo has said the government not only is going to work on creating new homes, but would be rehabilitating depressed communities, and eliminating “poor-only communities.”

Part of Calvo’s affordable housing initiative is the Homeowners Rehabilitation Loan Program, which provides qualified homeowners potentially interest-free loans of up to $60,000 for repairs and renovation, according to the Pacific Daily News files.

Affordable Housing

Martin Benavente, Guam Housing Corp. president, said his agency will try to get some of the funding to help rebuild communities that have deteriorated over the years. One example is the dollar housing in Astumbo where families purchased homes at a very low cost from the government, but for various reasons were unable to keep up with payments and have since abandoned their houses.

Benavente said there were legal hurdles they had to jump but the government was able to regain the properties in the last few weeks.

“The plan is now to renovate and refurbish those homes, basically bring them back up to living condition, and then lease them out at an affordable price,” he said, noting that the families who will be given preference as occupants are those who abandoned the homes. “We believe that they weren’t ready for the responsibility of home ownership but hopefully with us as their landlord and them simply renting the homes, they’ll be able to stay in a good environment, and provide a good home for their children.”

Benavente said Guam Housing Corp. is set up to be a landlord.

“We have maintenance and accounting divisions to help handle the leases and the homes, and hopefully with our presence in these neighborhoods it’ll serve as an example and really reinforce good home ownership,” he said. “There are people living in some of the houses there that are going without power or water, and the kids are the ones hurting.”

Benavente said they’re preparing to go to Astumbo and clean up the abandoned homes. Once they get the OK for the funding, the homes will undergo full renovations and repair in preparation to open them up to families once again.

Picture yourself in a brand new, two-bedroom home with a view of Tumon Bay from its terrace, for $608 a month, or a three-bedroom with a walk-in closet and after-school care for the kids for $676 monthly — in a gated subdivision.  This type of affordable housing community within close proximity to the island’s business and tourism districts is being made possible through a housing developer’s federal tax credit.

The 132-unit Ironwood Heights project on Ypao Road cost approximately $50 million.

The project reaches a major milestone this weekend as it opens model units for the public, its developer, Iron Bridge Housing Partners, announced yesterday.

The rest of the units are under construction and could be move-in ready in January, according to Iron Bridge Housing Partners.

Iron Bridge Housing Partners is able to offer affordable rental units under a low-income housing tax credit authorized by the U.S. Congress, said Carlos Camacho, vice president of the Guam company that co-developed the project.

Ironwood Heights was developed by Iron Bridge Housing Partners, a private developer of residential communities world-wide, and Micronesia Self-Help Housing Inc., a Guam nonprofit company dedicated to housing opportunities in the Pacific Rim.

The low-income housing tax credit program allows developers to develop rental housing communities through a tax credit to help offset some of their federal taxes incurred from housing developments, Camacho said.

“By using federal programs, Ironwood is able to offer rents significantly below market,” said Rick Inman, Ironwood owner, in a statement. “Once people see it, they understand how different Ironwood communities are from anything else available on Guam.”

“We strive to build the best communities on the island and clearly provide the best value for the rent,” he added.

To qualify, applicants generally need to meet income limits established under U.S. Housing and Urban Development guidelines. For example, a five-person household must have, in general, an income of up to $42,780 a year.

Camacho said the developer also wants to be a good landlord by offering after-school care for elementary school-age kids, and career education and financial literacy services to adults.

“The community center will host our resident services including IronKids, an after-school program for elementary school-aged children that provides nutritious snacks, homework tutoring and physical fitness programs. Ironwood will also offer adult career and financial training seminars and other community-focused activities,” Camacho said.

Though the program is administered through HUD, the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority administers the program on Guam, Camacho said.

All of the community activities are offered to residents at no charge, according to Ironwood in a press release.

Rents are expected to be $498 for one-bedroom, $608 for two-bedroom and $676 for three-bedroom units.

The two bedroom units are townhouse-styled and located on the second and third floors with the addition of a rooftop terrace with views of Tumon Bay and Two Lovers Point, according to the developer in a press release.

The project created more than 268 jobs over the course of construction.

Ironwood Heights at a Glance

•Ironwood Heights will offer 132 centrally located housing units.
•12 one-bedroom, 68 two-bedroom and 52 three-bedroom units will be available, according to the developer.
•An after-school program for elementary school children will be offered.
•Adult career and financial training seminars and other community-focused activities will be offered.
•All units are fully protected by fire sprinklers and smoke alarms, and include porcelain floor tiles, solid surface kitchen countertops and bathroom vanity tops, washer and dryer connections, major appliances and central air conditioning. All windows will have tinted glass and typhoon shutters.
•Ironwood Heights will include a community center, outdoor gazebo and playground.

In general, household annual income limits under the program are as follows to qualify for the low-income rental housing:

•2 Persons $31,680
•3 Persons $35,640
•4 Persons $39,600
•5 Persons $42,780
•6 Persons $45,960
•7 Persons $49,080

Ironwood Heights was developed by Iron Bridge Housing Partners, a private developer of residential communities worldwide, and Micronesia Self-Help Housing Inc., a Guam nonprofit company dedicated to housing opportunities in the Pacific Rim. Other Ironwood Communities in Guam include Ironwood Estates, Ironwood Manor and Ironwood Glen which total 303 houses along Starts Golf Course in Dededo.

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by Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno, PDN