(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced a $300,000 award to a Prairie View-based nonprofit housing organization to develop new single family housing affordable to area low income residents while providing a boost to the arm to the local economy.

Officials with WREM Literacy Community Housing Development Organization anticipate the funds will help develop single family housing in the cities of Prairie View and Hempstead, which will then be sold to income eligible buyers. The award will also help with down payment assistance in the form of deferred forgivable loans and mortgage financing to individual homebuyers purchasing homes constructed or rehabilitated with program funds.

“The development of single family housing is an important goal of the Department, as it provides greater housing choices for low income Texans and strengthens the health of entire communities,” said Tim Irvine, TDHCA Executive Director. “It also has the potential to generate construction jobs and the payroll, taxes, and fees that help provide essential services at the local level. We are certain this award will contribute to an improved quality of life for the citizens of Prairie View and Hempstead.”

TDHCA awards funds for the development of affordable single family housing to qualifying applicants through the Department’s HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program. Today’s award was made through a HOME set-aside fund specifically designed to assist Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), certified nonprofit organizations which make the development of affordable housing a primary component of its mission.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the funding source for the HOME Program. While most funds under the HOME Program may serve households earning up to 80 percent of the area median family income, this CHDO set-aside is designed to serve households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median family income. For Prairie View and Hempstead, this equals an annual income of $39,600 for a family for four. 

Founded in 2008, WREM Literacy Community Housing Development Organization is a nonprofit housing organization created to address adverse issues in education and the need for decent, affordable, housing in the community. For more information regarding this award, please contact WREM Literacy Community Housing Development Organization directly at (936) 857-9542.