Discussing Affordable Housing with Idaho Mayors

When LEAP Housing started in 2016, we had one mission: to make the world a better place. Fast forward 6 years later and LEAP is doing just that and more by creating affordable housing opportunities for the full spectrum of Idaho residents. With 250 potential homes in our pipeline, we’re expanding our reach beyond Boise. In our journey to tackle the statewide need for affordable housing, we’re looking to partner with cities and their leaders throughout Idaho to do just that. That’s how LEAP had the pleasure of presenting at the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Community Health Academy (BCIF).

The goal of BCIF is to unite city and community leaders to explore how they can improve the health of their communities. Nine Idaho mayors and the BCIF team gathered to discuss how the housing crisis we’re facing in Idaho is affecting their communities and find solutions to combat this issue. Creating affordable, safe, and stable housing opportunities available to the full spectrum of folks living in Idaho not only creates jobs and a resilient economy but provides housing stability that is key to our health. During our presentation, we shared the innovative solutions LEAP brings to the table that help bridge the affordable housing gap in Idaho and how cities and their leaders can play a role in solving the affordable housing puzzle. 

The best part, however, was showing Idaho Mayors the realities of creating affordable housing in Idaho by embarking on a “housing tour.” We all hopped on a yellow school bus to travel and tour through LEAP-made homes in the Boise area. From units still in construction to fully furnished homes with live-in residents, Idaho mayors saw how realistic the possibility of creating affordable housing projects in their community can be.

LEAP CEO Bart Cochran and city leaders outside of Taft Homes.

Just like in our housing tour, we’ll walk you through the presentation and homes we toured (no need to ride the bus though).

Bright and early one August morning, the LEAP team headed to the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation office in downtown Boise where we had the pleasure of meeting the mayors from the City of Caldwell, Glenns Ferry, Idaho Falls, Lewiston, New Meadows, Nezperce, Payette, Weiser, and Wendell.

We began our presentation by talking about the LEAP programs that work in collaboration to create and preserve homeownership opportunities. 

• Our Welcome Housing Program provides a better beginning for those arriving through refugee resettlement by providing a soft landing through temporary housing. LEAP owns and operates three Welcome Housing condos on the Boise Bench to welcome Boise’s newest residents. 

• Our Yes You Can Homeownership Program is a free service led by our staff to closely work with folks looking to purchase a home but needing some assistance navigating the home buying process.

• Lastly, our Resident Owned Communities (LEAP ROC) Program works to preserve affordable housing that exists in Idaho by helping homeowners form a cooperative and purchasing their community from the current owner.

The above programs go to show that when it comes to housing, there isn’t a one size fits all solution. Creating affordable housing opportunities for Idaho families comes down to a lot of collaboration, creativity, and communication between stakeholders in a community. If you're wondering what a stakeholder is and why they would be interested in creating affordable and workforce housing, don't worry, we’re almost there.

We asked the present mayors who in their community had a vested interest in realizing housing opportunities. We were met with a creative list of responses. Everyone from employers, city/county entities, schools, healthcare systems, faith communities, and the general public all play a role in determining whether or not attainable housing has a place in their community. It turns out we can all play a part in solving this affordable housing puzzle. 

This question prompted a discussion of issues we’ve heard many times related to Idaho's growing and unaffordable housing landscape. From Payette to Idaho Falls, city leaders have noticed similar trends occur in their cities:

• Families in their communities are pulled apart as younger generations are pushed out by the rising prices of homes. 

• A lack of housing for their workforce. Employees that drive their cities' economic well-being are being displaced from the city they work in due to the unattainable cost of rent.

• Leaders in the community know of areas of land in their city that could be transformed into affordable and workforce housing. Still, they don't have the technical expertise to develop a project like that.  

It's no shock that at least 38% of Idaho households earning below 80% area median income (AMI) experience being cost-burdened. This means that more than 30% of their income goes towards paying rent. Severely cost-burdened renters are more likely to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to make rent along with being more at risk of unstable living conditions due to evictions. When it comes to improving the healthcare of folks in our community, it comes down to creating attainable, affordable, and stable housing opportunities.

After our presentation, our trusty steed (the bus) began the tour by taking the group to Taft Homes, Caritas Commons, and Windy Court. You can read more about these rental and homeownership communities here, but here are the highlights: 

The first stop on the tour was Taft Homes. The group was able to walk in and tour a still-in-progress two-unit affordable housing unit that will be home to two Boise households who earn at or below 30% area median income (AMI). Taft Homes came to be through a partnership with Collister United Methodist Church through our “Yes In God’s BackYard” (YIGBY) initiative to repurpose unused church land into affordable housing. Taft is the first set of homes constructed on land owned by a church in Boise!

City leaders walking through a Taft Home.
After a grand tour of Taft Homes, we headed to Windy Court. Our fully operational 8-unit community built from modular steel frames provides innovative and eco-friendly benefits for residents who earn 30-50% AMI, with a preference for households with a member who is 55+ or has a disability. The site is solar-powered, designed with residents in mind, and includes a playground, 16 raised vegetable garden beds, a communal BBQ pergola, and a lending library. In addition, the landscape prioritizes native drought-tolerant plants and water-conserving xeriscaping. 

In order to preserve the privacy of residents, we did not take any photos. However, here is what the community looks like.
Our last stop brought us to Caritas Commons. Soon to be home to 14 affordable housing units, Caritas Commons is the largest affordable homeownership community in Boise in over 30 years. Geared towards folks who make 80% AMI or below, these units are part of the LEAP Housing Trust, the first Community Land Trust in the Treasure Valley. A key factor of LEAP’s Housing Trust is that homes in trust will remain affordable in perpetuity, meaning buyer after buyer for generations to come will have access to affordable homeownership. 

Spending the morning touring LEAP homes with Idaho mayors was a unique experience. We saw firsthand how eager city members are to support affordable housing in their communities and the possibilities that can come through a bit of communication, collaboration, and creativity. Like in our presentation, we encouraged city leaders to partner with affordable housing developers like LEAP Housing to create safe, clean, and sustainable housing for all Idaho families.

Want to join the many corporations, organizations and individuals who have supported the housing trust with land or financial donations? Let us know at info@leaphousing.org!