Paradise Community Village on Clark Road is being reborn. 36 families may be welcomed home on or before Thanksgiving 2021.
rebuilding
CHIP to rebuild Paradise Community Village
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n mid-September 2020, Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) broke ground on Paradise Community Village, a 36-unit affordable housing development located at 1001 Village Parkway in Paradise. The project has an estimated 15-month construction schedule and hopes are high that residents can be in their homes in time for Thanksgiving 2021. CHIP also developed and built the original project, and when completed, it will be the Town’s first affordable housing rental property to be rebuilt after the Camp Fire. CHIP staff, working closely with the Town, have fostered this rebirth despite numerous challenges including debris removal, water access, navigating the FEMA process, and additional hurdles unique to affordable housing. “The finished development will provide much needed affordable housing units for Paradise residents. This is a big win for Paradise and our recovery efforts,” said Lauren Gill, Paradise Town Manager, (Retired).
The property was originally built using Low Income Housing Tax Credits. These credits provide a significant amount of the financing needed to build a housing development available at reduced rents to lower income individuals and families. The Town of Paradise provided funding by applying the Town’s allocated Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) resources. Additionally, other funding came from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. One of the restrictions associated with tax credit funding stip-
ulates if the property is destroyed it must be rebuilt within two years, or the government will recapture the tax credits. That two-year deadline is approaching in December 2020.
“We knew from the very beginning that we would need an extension from the IRS. Our request easily found the support of Representative Doug LaMalfa and Senator Dianne Feinstein who knew firsthand the vast scope of the disaster and would take longer than two years to rebuild,” said Seana O’Shaughnessy, President/CEO of CHIP. A letter was sent to the IRS in support of the extension in the spring of 2019.
Unexplained delays in response from the IRS were emotionally magnified when the IRS finally sent a letter of denial on the first anniversary of the Camp Fire. CHIP is also fortunate to have two other dedicated supporters: -the original investor and Limited Partner, Merritt Community Capital and Sunseri Construction, a local builder and the contractor for both the original development and for the current project. “Being a part of the rebuild is so special for us. We will all celebrate the day that 36 families are able to be welcomed into their rebuilt home,” said Donny Lieberman, President and CEO of Sunseri Construction.
For information about the project and to sign up on the interest list call 530 891-6931 or chiphousing.org/rentals/ paradise/paradise-community-village
84.................................................................................................. PARADISE RISING Resource Guide for the Ridge
FALL/WINTER 2020
