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CRA approves $2.1 million for NeighborWorks shared-equity workforce housing with sustainability exception
Summary
The CRA approved a $2.1 million term sheet to fund two NeighborWorks Salt Lake projects while granting a limited waiver to the agency’s 2021 sustainability policy for one site and requiring continued effort to meet Energy Star standards.
The Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency approved a $2.1 million financial assistance package to NeighborWorks Salt Lake to support two shared-equity, for-sale workforce housing projects and authorized staff to negotiate and execute funding agreements under the term sheet, with a limited sustainability exception for one parcel.
Tracy Tran, senior project manager for CRA staff, summarized the term sheet and conditions. The funds were originally allocated by the board in 2023: $1,400,000 from the Housing Development Fund and $700,000 from the Westside Community Initiative. The package is intended to support two for-sale residential developments in the Poplar Grove and Fair Park neighborhoods; staff said NeighborWorks is establishing a community land trust to own and manage the land beneath the homes to preserve long-term affordability.
Under the term sheet each project must meet specific conditions to receive the grant amounts identified in the memo. Speakers said the grants are subject to: deed restrictions capping resale at 120% area median income (AMI); a minimum of 20% of units restricted to 80% AMI; at least 45% of units in each project be three-bedroom; units developed and sold as individual platted units; evidence of sufficient financing and required permits; and a CRA subsidy limit that cannot exceed 15% of the median sales price or $70,000 per unit. Staff also noted a use-by date in the term sheet: funds must be used to develop each project by 06/30/2027.
NeighborWorks CEO Bryce Garner told the board that redesigning a project from natural gas to a fully electric HVAC system would add months and additional cost at the current stage of design, potentially threatening the organization’s ability to deliver homes at the targeted affordability level. Garner said stopping to redesign could increase construction costs and delay planned ground-breaking.
CRA staff and board members discussed the agency’s sustainable development policy (adopted in 2021). That policy requires new construction funded by CRA to design to an Energy Star score of 90 or equivalent EUI and be 100% electric (no on-site fossil fuel combustion), among other requirements. NeighborWorks asked for a waiver of the 100% electric and the Energy Star/EUI requirements for the Poplar Grove project; staff said NeighborWorks has not yet been able to provide a design-level Energy Star or EUI estimate for that project.
Board members debated precedent and affordability trade-offs. Several members expressed support for the projects’ community land trust model and family-sized homeownership goals, while also expressing concern about creating a widespread waiver pathway from the sustainability policy. After discussion the board approved the term sheet and delegated negotiation and execution to CRA staff, with the following clarifications recorded in the meeting: (1) the board will not require immediate waiver of the Energy Star requirement across both projects and asked NeighborWorks to pursue Energy Star analysis concurrently with ongoing work; (2) CRA staff will release the grant funds to each project only after the project meets the conditions specified in the term sheet (permits, financing, construction contract, etc.); (3) the board agreed to a limited accommodation for the Poplar Grove project’s furnace (allowing gas-fired HVAC as designed) while requiring NeighborWorks to pursue Energy Star verification and other electric appliance measures where feasible; and (4) funding is structured per project (approximately $850,000 for the Poplar Grove/Molterra project and $1.25 million for the Stanbridge project) and will be released separately when each project meets its conditions.
Board members recorded unanimous support for the resolution and asked staff to return with verification materials and any requests for formal waiver if Energy Star targets cannot be met. The board’s approval authorizes staff to finalize the term sheet agreements and monitor compliance with the conditions specified.
