$16.7 million RAD transaction includes construction of 32 new affordable rental homes and a community center at Waverly Townhouses as part of second phase of Housing Authority’s re-development plan
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Multifamily Housing is announcing today that it recently closed a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) transaction with the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven, CT, facilitating the construction of 32 new affordable rental homes and a community center at the Housing Authority’s Waverly Townhouse site. This is the second phase of the Waverly redevelopment plan which, when complete, will preserve 110 low-income housing homes. During its first phase, the Housing Authority used RAD to preserve 70 affordable rental homes in March 2019.
This phase will include the new construction of a nine-building, mixed-income development which will include 32 affordable homes, eight market rate homes, and a brand-new community center. The Housing Authority will be placing assistance associated with eight affordable units into a different development known as Westville Manor Phase 2, estimated to be completed in December 2024.
The construction during this second phase RAD conversion will be built to achieve Passive House Institute – United States (PIUS) Core New Construction Green Certification. Achieving this certification ensures the new development will be designed to net-zero building standards, including high-efficiency heat pumps, Energy Recovery Systems in every home, and Energy Star appliances.
The RAD transaction includes a $16.7 million construction budget ($417,500 per home) fully financed through:
- Commercial First Mortgage Loan
- 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits
- Housing Choice Voucher Funds
- Connecticut Housing Finance Authority Funds
About RAD
RAD was designed to help address the multi-billion-dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance in the public housing portfolio and to stem the loss of affordable housing that could no longer be kept to decent standards. From the program’s inception through January 1, 2023, the Rental Assistance Demonstration has facilitated more than $15 billion in capital investment to improve or replace nearly 185,000 deeply rent-assisted homes, most of which house extremely low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
Under RAD, projects funded under the public housing program convert their public housing assistance to project-based Section 8 rental assistance. Under Section 8, residents continue to pay 30% of their income towards rent and the housing must continue to serve those with very low and extremely low incomes, as was the case when the property was assisted through the public housing program. Residents must be notified and consulted prior to conversion, are given a right to return to assisted housing post-construction so that the same tenants can enjoy these newly preserved and improved apartments and maintain the same fundamental rights they had as public housing residents.
RAD Resources
More programmatic information is available at the RAD website. Data on RAD is available at the RAD Resource Desk.
View photo essays and read case studies where RAD is working to successfully preserve and improve public housing for low-income families.
Watch an educational video for public housing residents or those new to the RAD program.