Raleigh County developers are asking the West Virginia Housing Development Fund for help in doing substantial rehabilitation to 36 rental units in the Daniels area, according to West Virginia Housing Development Fund Executive Director Joe Hatfield.

Gov. Joe Manchin announced earlier this month that nearly $232 million will be allocated for low-income housing projects in 34 towns and cities across West Virginia.

“West Virginia has stepped up to provide for the construction and rehabilitation of new units before the stimulus funds were passed by the Congress and signed by President Obama,” said Manchin. “With the addition of the stimulus funds, we will be able to make some of these deals more affordable by supplementing the Housing Development Fund’s Housing Tax Credit Program, which will free up its funds to be used to assist families in buying a new home.”

Manchin also serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Housing Development Fund.

The stimulus legislation provided funds specifically dedicated to supplement rental housing programs.

The Raleigh project is among 49 statewide projects that will affect 2,255 rental units, Hatfield said.

In Fayette County, funding is being sought to rehabilitate 81 units and to allocate funding for four units of home ownership, Hatfield said.

Sixty units in Summers County are slated for rehabilitation; Greenbrier County is seeking funding for rehabilitation of three rental units and home ownership opportunities for four units; Wyoming County developers are seeking funding for five home ownership opportunities, and funding for four home ownership units are being sought by developers in the Nicholas County area, said Hatfield.

The identity of developers involved in the local projects will be made public once the loans are approved.

Currently, the projects are still in the proposal stage and have not been approved, he added.

“It’s either going to be low-cost rental housing for moderate income families or home ownership opportunities for mostly low-income families or families with incomes below 80 percent of the median for the area,” stated Hatfield. “It’s going to provide some rental as well as home ownership opportunities in those counties.

“This certainly helps the market all the way around.”

Hatfield said the employment potential created by the units will help West Virginia’s labor force to survive the recent economic downturn.

“(It will) keep many of our builders and developers in business while providing safe, decent and affordable housing,” he added.

In 2009, West Virginia is expected to finance more than $350 million in housing projects through the Housing Development Fund.

Hatfield said the Housing Fund awards grants and loans and deals with non-profit organizations and developers.

Hatfield said funding levels for various regions in the state changes annually.

“What we fund is really responsive to the non-profit organizations and developers that participate, so it may be weighted in one part of the state one year, and another part the next.

“Once an organization gets an award of funds or a loan approval from the Housing Fund, it might take a year or two years to go through the process of building and development.”

— E-mail: jfarrish@register-herald.com