The Housing Resource Team was created in 1990 to carry out the Legislature's mandate to provide pre-construction technical assistance to rural areas and small cities and towns. The mandate was part of legislation creating the Housing Trust Fund and ensures that rural areas will receive a fair share of the money allocated through the Trust Fund.
Rural communities face many challenges to providing affordable housing.
Growing populations, deteriorating older housing stock, limited water and sewer capacity, increasing incidence of homelessness, complex financing requirements, and the high cost of new construction are a few of the challenges. As housing needs escalate, the Housing Resource Team works to build the local capacity to meet those challenges, thus enhancing the ability of rural and distressed communities to compete for private and public housing funds. Examples of the technical assistance provided include financial packaging, feasibility studies, market analyses, project planning, site evaluation, and construction estimates. Eligible applicants include nonprofit housing development organizations, housing authorities, local governments, and tribal organizations that serve rural communities. Since 1990, technical assistance has been provided to more than 100 projects throughout the state.