UPDATE: Waco Development
Freedom’s Path Housing for Veterans at Waco, TX
Solutions for Veterans, a nonprofit organization that partners with the VA to provide housing for homeless, near homeless, disabled, and senior low-income Veterans, announces the beginning phases of a housing community in Waco Texas. In July, the Board of Directors of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs approved the Freedom’s Path at Waco development for $454,000 in annual housing tax credits. This decision comes as good news as it allows SFV to move on to the next phase of the development.
An audit conducted over a decade ago by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs found that the VA had approximately 1,400 vacant buildings on VA Medical Center campuses across the country. The VA was spending millions on the upkeep of vacant, un-used buildings. At the same time, the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that there were almost 80,000 homeless Veterans across the country. These upsetting statistics was characterized by politicians and agency alike as, “a national disgrace.”
In an effort to remedy this situation, the VA enlisted help form the private sector in a program designed to eliminate Veteran homelessness. Their goal was to increase the services being offered to its homeless, disabled, and low-income Veterans within vacant buildings on VA campuses by entering into partnerships with private sector developers and non-VA providers.
Solutions for Veterans in conjunction with affiliated organizations has been chosen to redevelop twelve properties. Since 2012, SFV and its partners have completed nine of the projects, with a tenth approved for funding and in the closing process. The completed projects currently provide 451 units of housing for homeless, near homeless, disabled and senior adult low-income Veterans in seven states.
The Waco project, also known as Freedom’s Path at Waco, is located on the campus of the Doris Miller VA Medical Center. The project includes 4.31 acres of land with three standing historic VA structures. A projected budget of about 6 million dollars will be financed using the availability of the land and buildings at no cost from the VA, federal and state historic tax credits, and affordable housing tax credits. This model of financing is one Solutions For Veterans has used on its other VA projects.
The three existing buildings will be repurposed to meet the housing needs of Veterans while preserving the historic nature of the buildings. The project will be comprised of new construction and historic renovation. The existing buildings will house 26 studio units and a new construction building will house eight units with a community service facility. Rental Assistance will be available to residents through the Waco Housing Authority.
Residents will be drawn from Veterans who are out-patients at the Doris Miller VA Medical Center. Additionally, Veterans reporting to the medical center as disabled, low-income, homeless or near homeless will be referred from the homeless coordinator for the VA. The VA Medical Center in conjunction with the Waco Housing Authority will be the primary locus of identification of Veterans who will benefit from the housing.
Through partnerships, Solutions for Veterans seeks to provide housing as well as an opportunity for growth and healing. Partnerships with other non-profit organizations and co-developers will provide housing, while the VA will provide medical, pharmacy, therapeutic, and rehabilitation services. Further, several local non-profits will provide services beyond the scope of what the VA can do. Partnerships include:the Doris Miller VA Medical Center, the Waco Housing Authority, Garrison for Veterans, Wellington Development Company, Texas Developer Chris Bergmann, Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop, and the Stan C. Parker Foundation.
