ROGERS, Ark. — Amid concerns about affordable housing in Northwest Arkansas, one group is working to help families and individuals with different income levels find housing.
Community Development Northwest Arkansas (CDNWA) says that’s why they gathered at Olive Street Park to break ground on a new apartment complex that will offer housing for mixed-income levels.
"The mission is to provide housing to households that might not otherwise afford it," Casey Kleinhenz with the nonprofit said. He says the Olive Street apartment project began back in 2022.
The 60-unit complex located near Olive Street Park is a $13 million project. It will offer two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments for mixed-income levels.
"75% of the units in the project will be affordable to households earning less than 80% of the median income here," Kleinhenz said. "12 of those units are priced where households with a Section 8 income voucher could afford to live in those units."
In Arkansas, the median income level for an individual is about $26,500, and for a household just under $50,000.
"We've worked on financing with the Walton Family Foundation and Cadence Bank," Kleinhenz said. "That's what's letting us include some below market rate units in the project."
With such a booming city, Robert Burns with the foundation says they’re excited to bring more inclusivity to such a great area.
"You've got a park that's right next door, you've got the trail system, you're proximate to the Razorback Greenway, schools are close by," Burns said. "Folks can walk, they can bike, they can actually get a short drive, you decrease traffic congestion. It also just has a sense of a neighborhood, you're close to other housing and other folks."
Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care was also represented at the groundbreaking. They say housing with these new guidelines is a game changer for the homeless.
"It's going to hit that missing middle group that is so hard to find housing for. And then even those that are even lower income that we might have grants and we might have opportunities for, but there's no housing," Debbie Martin with the group explains.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, individuals earning around $15,000 dollars a year may qualify for Section 8 housing, and about $31,000 dollars for a family of four.
Kleinhenz projects that the Olive Street apartment complex will be completed in fall of 2025.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.