At its Dec. 3 meeting, City Council approved a $2.1 million budget supplement to the Affordable Rental Development Fund (ARDF), which supports the creation of much-needed affordable rental housing within city limits. 

The supplement brings the total investment in the ARDF to $10.1 million since Mayor Madeline Rogero established the fund with $2 million in the 2017-2018 budget. 

“The fund has allowed us to respond relatively quickly to proposals by non-profit entities, private developers and community partners to expedite the construction of affordable rental units,” said Community Development Director Becky Wade. 

Since its creation, the ARDF is contributing to the creation of 935 units, 38 of which are currently or soon to be occupied. Those units include housing for single mothers at Restoration House, U.S. military veterans at Helen Ross McNabb’s Middlebrook Gardens and low-income seniors at The Cottages at Clifton. 

An additional 509 units are under construction, including affordable apartment complexes developed by Nashville-based Elmington Capital Group (Southside Flats, the Flats at Pond Gap and Young High Flats) and supportive housing for seniors and people with disabilities developed by Homesource East Tennessee (The Village at Holston Court). 

The 388 units in the pipeline for development include 50 units of senior supportive housing on Mineral Springs Road and a 192-unit affordable apartment complex on Moss Grove Boulevard in Cedar Bluff. The remainder are to-be-announced projects totaling $2.9 million to create 146 units. Applications for four projects for have been received since July 2019, Wade said. 

“The demand for affordable rental housing is there,” says Wade. “We have been fortunate to have housing partners that can locate property and put the funding together to make these projects a reality. Our funds fill financing gaps in development budgets and are leveraged $19 to $1. For every $1 of City funds, $19 of private funds are used to create more affordable housing options to meet the need.” 

Additional information about the Affordable Rental Development Fund and the City’s other Community Development programs that support the revitalization of Knoxville's low-to-moderate income neighborhoods is available online at KnoxvilleTN.gov/development.