Building Jericho

By Donnita Fisher

'URBAN VILLAGE' HOUSING COMING TO WYLIE

In the biblical account, the children of Israel followed a plan and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. The organizers of Jericho Village-Wylie are hoping to bring some walls down as well.

Jericho Village-Wylie will be located on about 2.5 acres at the corner of West Brown Street and North Winding Oaks. The development will feature a 38-unit “urban village” concept with a community center, playground and access to services offered by of Agape Resource & Assistance Center of Plano, the group building the complex.

The residences will be income-based rentals.

The Need For Affordable Housing

“In Collin County, over 6,500 households are one crisis away from homelessness,” said Janet Collinsworth, Agape CEO and founder.

A 2023 study by the National Low Income HousingCoalition ranks the DFW area third in the top 10 worst metropolitan areas for affordable housing with only 16 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renters.

Janet shared that the median income in Wylie for ISD and municipal workers is $55,000. “According to HUD, these households should not pay more than $1,375 for all housing costs, including utilities,” she said.

The website point2homes.com lists the current average apartment rent in Wylie at $1,680 and the average rent for a single-family dwelling at $2,647, excluding utilities.

“It is difficult for those who protect and serve the Wylie community to actually live in Wylie,” Janet said. “Rent that is based on tenant income is economically attainable and affordable by those households.

“Jericho Village rents will be based on the Wylie area median income of $105,600 with 95 percent of the units available to households making 80 percent of AMI or less and 65 percent of the units available to households making 50 percent of AMI or less."

Between 30 and 40 percent of the units will be available for single women and single mothers and their children that graduate from the Agape program.

“The remainder of the units will be available to the Wylie community in need,” Janet said. “It will not be hard to rent the 38 units in Jericho Village. We receive requests every week asking when Jericho Village will be completed and available for renters."

The concept for Jericho Village-Wylie is new. In doing research for the project, Janet said they had “not found another Jericho-type village but to us, it’s intuitive."

Wylie resident Fran Fisher agrees. Several years ago, she and a group of Wylie residents saw the need for something like Jericho Village.

“Jon Bailey, Ronni Fetzer, Darin Reeves, Susan Shuler, Mary Warkentine, myself and others I cannot remember recognized the huge need in our community for those that were either at-risk of homelessness or others that had become homeless,” Fran said. “We researched how to meet this need by looking at the old hospital and old nursing home to start to address the need. The costs were prohibitive, but the vision remained. Later we formed an organization of the faith community, local nonprofits, WISD and Wylie Police Department called the Wylie Community Resource Collaborative.

“Kisha Voss of WPD shared with us that she knew of an organization that had a vision of building an economically attainable housing community.”

The resource group met with Janet, who outlined Agape’s vision. “The idea resonated with the collaborative and thus the two visions came together, and we started working with the community to bring Jericho Village to Wylie,” Fran said. (A career social worker, Fran said she became an employee of Agape in July 2021 “because of my tremendous desire to see Jericho Village become a reality in my home community of Wylie.”)

Wylie Steps Up

Janet had pitched the idea to other communities in Collin County, and while they seemed interested, Wylie stepped up to be first, she said.

Janet presented the Jericho Village concept to the collaborative in September 2020. The group consisted of representatives from local churches, the school district, the city of Wylie and other nonprofits. Renae Ollie, Wylie deputy city manager, was in attendance.

Following that presentation, Renae asked Janet to present the Jericho Village vision to incoming mayor, Matthew Porter. He said he saw how Jericho Village could benefit the people and community of Wylie and he invited Janet to present the concept of Jericho Village to the Wylie council in February 2021.

“The city council also saw a need for the project in Wylie and the potential of Jericho Village providing an innovative solution for affordable housing and improved stability of the villagers,” Janet said. “They voted unanimously to support Agape in the development.”

In February 2022, the Wylie Planning and Zoning Commission conditionally approved to rezone the property to Planned Development – Multi-Family and in March 2022, Jericho Village was unanimously approved by council.

“Wylie really opened their arms proactively,” Janet said. “City leaders had already been looking for a solution for affordable housing and poverty and saw that solution in Jericho Village. A providential litany of events is why Jericho has been able to progress. Most communities are not that accepting of the need for affordable housing.”

Mayor Porter said the project is an excellent opportunity for Wylie. “It’s something we can be proud of, and it’s an opportunity to see government partnering with our non-profits and our faith-based community in order to serve a need.”

A Village In The Neighborhood

The development is designed to blend into and enhance the surrounding neighborhood, Janet said. There will be nine two-story apartment buildings that resemble single-family homes. The 38 units will range from studio to three-bedrooms.

In addition to the community center and playground, plans call for a community garden, park benches and an outdoor patio and grill area.

“The community center will be a central gathering place for the villagers,” Janet said. “Areas inside the community center will include a bright colorful children’s area, a small fitness space, a computer lab, private counselor and advocacy offices, a multi-purpose community room and a warming kitchen adjacent to the community room with direct access to the patio area. All these spaces will encourage socialization and connection with other families and villagers within the community.”

Agape will provide caseworkers who will offer on-site workforce and family support services in hopes of giving the residents the chance to “attain and retain economic stability.”

“On-site support teams including social workers, education/vocation and budget coaches and counselors will facilitate vocational and financial education, job placement assistance, childcare, transportation, counseling and help with meeting basic needs so the Jericho Village families and children can be stable and remain safely housed and progress toward fulfilling, selfsustaining lives,” Janet said.

Funding for the project is about 60 percent from equity and 40 percent from mortgage debt. The $5.2 million equity Agape has raised to date for the project is “based on the participation and generosity of a wide range of supporters including funded corporate and philanthropic grants, donations from board members, individuals, faith groups, corporations, pro-bono professional fees, and in-kind donations of construction materials, equipment, and supplies.”

The Mission That Meets The Need

“Jericho Village will make it possible for not only Agape graduates to have safe, affordable housing, but teachers, police officers, firefighters and the workforce of Wylie will be able to enjoy desirable, affordable homes in the city they protect and serve,” Janet said.

According to information from the organization, Agape’s “mission is to provide safe, stable housing and transformational services to situationally homeless single women, single moms and their children that empower them to move from crisis and poverty to fulfilling, self-sustaining lives.”

Almost 90 percent of women served by Agape are survivors of abuse, domestic violence or trafficking. “Since its inception in 2013, over 75 percent of the women and families have graduated with higher income, able to live within their means and look forward to a life with hope for themselves and their children,” Janet said.

Jericho Village residents will go through a process similar to that of renting from a traditional facility. There will be background checks and those with violent or sexual criminal pasts will not be allowed. Agape will also monitor for substance abuse. And while there is no time limit for how long a resident can rent from the village, the goal is to establish stable, permanent housing, Janet said. To that end, organizers will collaborate with Habitat for Humanity if permanent home ownership is desired, she said.

In addition to its walls coming down, Jericho, Israel, is one of the oldest continually occupied communities in the world. “The people of Jericho had to work together to protect their community, sharing what they had and supporting each other to overcome a multitude of adversities and tragedies,” Janet said. “We believe that same perseverance and community spirit will be uniquely present at Jericho Village-Wylie.”

Fran Fisher agrees. “The Jericho Village model is needed in communities all across the nation,” she said. “We believe that this self-sustaining model can be replicated nationwide. Nevertheless, it takes political will and time.

“Thanks to city leadership, Wylie will benefit from Jericho Village and can be a model for other larger communities to follow.”

Jericho Village-Wylie is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2024 at 511 W. Brown St. For more information about Agape and Jericho Village, visit www. hope4agape.org. •