Great Homes project to launch in Yigo

by Krystal Paco

Guam - Inline with the Calvo Administration's commitment to providing more affordable housing for low-income households on the island, the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority awarded $41 million in tax credits today. Catholic Social Services has been awarded $29 million in low-income housing tax credits for an 81-unit affordable housing project in Yigo. 

Great Homes, LLC is a subsidiary of the Catholic Social Service Guam, committed to establishing and maintaining homes for those in need. CSS director Diana Calvo told KUAM News, "The intent of the project is to ensure that our families have access to clean and safe housing."

According to GHURA, most developments remove their projects from the low-income housing inventory after 15 years, but Catholic Social Services through Great Homes has committed to stay in the Low-Income Housing Program for at least 61 years. "We're really excited because we've been involved in providing homes or housing to those who are in our homeless shelter or the transitional apartments and we see that its very difficult for families to try and get into more permanent housing that they can afford," Calvo said.

GHURA administers the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. The program provides federal money to finance the development of affordable rental homes for low-income households. GHURA board chair Dave Sablan said, "That developer will make an agreement to make sure these houses are affordable to the low-income and medium income clients of GHURA that qualify. That adds to the overall housing inventory of what GHURA would like to see in terms of people that qualify that qualify for low-income and medium-income housing."

The Great Homes project, which will be located in Yigo near NCS, will also include a community center, a basketball court, a playground and extra parking. Meanwhile another $12 million in LIHTC tax credits were awarded to Tower 70, which will build a proposed high-rise 70-unit low-income housing project in Upper Tumon.

Both CSS and Tower 70 have two years to get all the construction completed.