June 24, 2022

Seven large affordable housing projects in California are costing more than $1 million per apartment to build, making it difficult to house residents with low incomes. The projects will house more than 600 families, but the costs mean taxpayers are subsidizing fewer apartments than they otherwise could. Increases in labor and material prices, strict environmental and labor standards, greater parking requirements, lengthy local approval processes, and a complicated financing system are contributing to the steep price tags. 

To combat displacement, Austin, Texas’s city council approved more than $47 million in spending and loan agreements for buildings located in north, south, and east Austin. The city will purchase four complexes located near current or future transit lines and the project will be supported by more than $10 million in Project Connect antidisplacement funds.

In the US, heat contributes to around 1,500 deaths annually, and advocates estimate about half are people experiencing homelessness. They are about 200 times more likely than sheltered people to die from heat-associated causes. “As temperatures continue to rise across the US and the world, cities like Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, or Kansas City that don’t have the experience or infrastructure for dealing with heat have to adjust,” said David Hondula, director of heat response and mitigation for the City of Phoenix. 

The affordable housing shortage, coupled with the labor shortage, has forced many school and hospital systems to dive into real estate to help fill positions. Schools and hospitals are struggling with increased turnover and vacancies, which has affected their ability to properly serve patients and students. Now, some are connecting new hires to housing while others are going further by buying or building housing for workers. Some are even becoming landlords.