Grapevine - Colleyville - Southlake | July 2023

CONTINUED FROM 1

STAYING THE SAME

RENTAL RANGE

housing program. It operates 98 housing units built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is independent from the city of Grapevine. There are no HUD hous- ing projects in Colleyville or Southlake. On Jan. 13, 2022, the housing authority opened its waiting list to individuals and families in need of housing. On Jan. 15, only 36 hours after opening, the housing authority’s Executive Director Jane Ever- ett said the group received over 4,000 applications. There are no plans to reopen the list, she said, and there are only a few openings throughout a year. There are only 98 total apartments eligible for low-income housing. That number will not change due to a federal law created in 1998 that halted con- struction of public housing stock in 1999. “There needs to be more aordable housing,” Everett said. “There needs to be more of that [gov- ernment assistance] out there to help these people.” The need for housing and rental assistance is not only in Grapevine. The Tarrant County Homeless Coalition reported from Jan. 1-May 31, there was a 14% increase in homelessness. Helping hand The Grapevine Housing Authority manages one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Within those units, the authority has elderly and disabled units as well as handicap units. HUD determines eligibility for low-income hous- ing by assessing median income of a specic area, she said. The HUD metropolitan area of Fort Worth and Arlington that covers Tarrant County has a median family income of $97,700, according to HUD data. A family of four must make $29,200 or less to be “very low income,” and $48,700 to be “low

Rental housing options in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake provide a multitude of options from one bedroom up to six bedrooms as of June 20.

While the population has increased 18 fold in Grapevine from 1960 to 2020, the number of federally subsidized housing units hasn’t increased.

60,000

45,000

Low

High

Median

50,756

30,000

$1,800 $3,432.50 $5,950 per month per month per month

2,821

15,000

1960

1980 2000 2020

$2,400 $4,750 $13,500 per month per month per month

98 subsidized houses

$2,450 $6,410 $30,000 per month per month per month

1960

2023

Since The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s public housing started construction and opened in Grapevine in the late 1960s and into early 1970s, the number of houses stayed at 98.

There are fewer than 100 total rental houses available in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake combined as of June 20. RENT OR BUY?

SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, CITY OF GRAPEVINE COMMUNITY IMPACT

Knowing the need For now, Grace’s housing will give Brown a chance to get back on her feet nancially, she said. Homelessness was avoided by getting into a pro- gram in Colleyville, which gave her a place to stay while pregnant. That turned into Grace helping out, and getting Brown and her son, who is now 6 months old, into a stable living situation.

Homes for rent

Homes for sale

Grapevine

income” to meet HUD requirements. For a housing authority home, Ever- ett said no more than 30% of income— whether it be from social security, disability or wages—is put toward rent. Capping rent gives families disposable income to put toward utilities, food, clothing and other necessities, she said. “The whole point is we’re trying to help low-income folks,” Everett said. “We really are trying to nd those folks that are below the mark that need the help.”

Colleyville

Brown said she loves living in Grapevine and hopes she is able to nd a place in the city when her two years of transitional housing is up. “It’s a good community to raise your kid, but it’s just almost too expensive to do that,” she said. The high price of rent concerns Grapevine City Council Member Du O’Dell who has been a Grace volunteer since 1985 and is the council liaison for the Housing Authority Advisory Board. With Grapevine’s status as a

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN GRAPEVINE IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR MANY. STACY PACHOLICK, GRACE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Southlake

103

SOURCES: REALTORS.COM MLS LISTING, COLLIN COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

food and her medication. “Thank goodness for Grace and other entities like Grace to ll in the gaps with food and some other things, but it is just getting tougher and tougher,” O’Dell said. Grace relies on help from the community to pro- vide funding for the transitional housing program. Financial contributions are an option as well as the donation station and resale stores in Grapevine and Euless, which provide a third of the annual budget for the program at Grace, according to Pacholick. “Another way to help is close to our hearts—volun- teers,” Smith said. “Most of our programs rely on the generous people power provided by our local indi- viduals and group volunteers.”

hospitality town, she is worried service employees who only make minimum wage are not able to live in the city. “If [employees] don’t have a way to get to work and they don’t have a place to live that they can aord, they have to move somewhere else,” O’Dell said. “At some point we’re going to have to go, ‘Wait a minute, we don’t have enough workers.’ … That continues to be a concern because aordable hous- ing is just not as prevalent as it used to be.” O’Dell said she hears from seniors that they’re going to be homeless and don’t know what to do because rent is so expensive. In one instance, a senior who moved into a housing unit was happy to nally have a place to live and still be able to aord

Grace Interim Executive Director Stacy Pachol- ick said it is less costly in the long run to make sure families don’t become homeless. She said the need for housing assistance outweighs the resources the nonprot has. Fewer agencies oer rental assistance now in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. During scal year 2021-22, Grace provided rental assistance to 366 households, according to the nonprot. Grace Transitional Housing Manager Martisha Smith said the average pay for many of the families who need help is between $14-$17 per hour. “Aordable housing in Grapevine is a big problem for many,” Smith said.

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

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