Rural Nevada Apartment Spotlight:
Mountain Shadows Apartments, Elko – Remodel in Progress

By: Kathleen Eagan, Nevada Rural Housing Authority

Part I – Getting started…. How do owners upgrade and rehabilitate older, outdated affordable housing complexes? Answer: Slowly, but surely, we’ll get ‘er done!

Nevada Rural Housing Authority’s (NRHA) goal is to provide rural housing options which complement and benefit the entire community. One of the major challenges in maintaining affordable housing is upgrading multi-family units to provide quality, modern amenities, safety features and energy-efficient appliances and HVAC units while still maintaining affordable rents. By providing innovative solutions for renters, investors, and owners, NRHA can achieve our shared goal of enhancing the quality of life in rural Nevada.

Planning for a rehabilitation project begins years before actual construction can start. To secure project funding, NRHA collaborates with local, state, federal and private funding sources such as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), USDA 515 program, Nevada Housing Division HOME funds, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and Project based vouchers, and more. 

Applications for project funds require the efforts of NRHA Community Development, Finance and Real Estate Operations teams’ expertise in preparing due diligence reports such as Appraisals, Market Studies, Environmental Site reports, Capital Needs Assessments (CNA’s), Budgets and Proformas to enable final funding approval and construction to begin.

Along with securing funding, selection of the architect and general contractor is the next critical step to develop site plans, drawings, and Scope of Work details. NRHA has developed and maintained relationships with experts in the affordable housing professional community to work together on the challenges of creating beautiful homes while maintaining construction budgets and time schedules.  Rural Nevada is blessed with nature and beauty, but communities far from urban centers create hardship on the agency to such remote locations even in the best of weather, let alone the winter months!

In keeping with NRHA’s mission is to promote, provide and finance affordable housing for all rural Nevada, our agency ensures to investors, community leaders and residents that tenants will not be displaced from their homes and rents will not be increased due to rehabilitation efforts. 

NRHA’s staff creates a relocation plan with the property manager to ensure tenants either maintain their home during construction or are provided for moving and rental costs while their unit is being remodeled before returning to a newly remodeled unit. We take pride in the workmanship and quality products to truly create “Home Sweet Home” for our tenants! 

Part II – To be continued… In a few months, NRHA will present the completed efforts showcasing the newest features of the remodeled units, community buildings and amenities at Mountain Shadows Apartments in Elko, NV. New features to include: hard surface flooring, cabinets, refrigerators, furnaces, water heaters, ceiling fans, range and hood, interior and exterior paint, windows, doors, community garden, dog run, exterior lighting, security cameras and much more!