City Community Development Grants to Assist Murfreesboro Housing Authority Mercury Court Redevelopment

Jul 22, 2024 at 04:19 pm by WGNS News

Thomas Rowe, center, Director Robert Holtz, right, and Assistant Director Jessica Cline, left

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The City of Murfreesboro Community Development Department has awarded the Murfreesboro Housing Authority (MHA) with $1.1 million in federal grant funding for the Mercury Court Redevelopment Phase I Plan. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnership Grant Program funds are administered by the City’s Community Development Department.

“The purpose of the HOME grant is to fund a wide range of activities including building, buying and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing for rent or homeownership for low-income families,” said Community Development Department Director Robert Holtz. “The City appreciates the leadership of MHA in redeveloping affordable housing in our community and recognizes the demand for such housing to meet the needs of families.”

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MHA applied for and received the two grants in 2023 and 2024. MHA will utilize the federal grants to help fund the estimated $15 million dollar Mercury Court Redevelopment Phase I Plan to provide affordable housing to low-income families. Mercury will include a total of 34 units consisting of fourteen 2-bedroom and twenty 3-bedroom units. Completion of the redevelopment, located at Minor Street, is anticipated for December 2025.

“The affordable housing units will serve families at or below 60 percent of the area median income known as AMI with 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC),” said Murfreesboro Housing Authority CEO Thomas Rowe. “We appreciate the City’s Community Development Department contribution to this affordable housing project in Murfreesboro.”

In addition to the 2023 and 2024 grant funding, the City of Murfreesboro provided 25 percent matching fund contribution totaling $240,000 to the initial 2022 HOME grant.

Applications for HOME Investment Partnership and CDBG Public Service Grants are submitted in a competitive application review process that begins at the first of the calendar year. Application is open to all nonprofits assisting low-to-moderate income families within the City of Murfreesboro. For more information on the Community Development Department and the application process, visit  https://www.murfreesborotn.gov/112/Community-Development

In the past, Doors of Hope and Habitat for Humanity have also received HOME funds to create and rehab affordable housing.

In April, MHA celebrated the grand opening of Oakland I and II, 150 newly built affordable housing homes on 20 acres between North Academy and Maney Avenues in Murfreesboro. Oakland I and II is managed by MHA. Families living in the homes pay 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities.

About the Murfreesboro Housing Authority - The Murfreesboro Housing Authority is a quasi-governmental corporation that began in 1950 to provide housing for low-income families. The mission of the Murfreesboro Housing Authority is to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing in good repair for eligible families in a manner that promotes serviceability, economy, efficiency, and stability of the developments; and to utilize all available resources to maximize the social and economic opportunities of its residents. The MHA is governed by a five-member Board of Directors appointed by the Mayor of Murfreesboro.

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