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86 MISSOURI Fighting Urban Blight in Kansas City Kansas City holds more than 5,000 blighted homes and vacant lots, but that may soon change thanks to a new investment pool from AltCap called the KC Home Rehabber Loan Fund. Kansas City-based AltCap part- nered with Legal Aid of Western Missouri and Stinson Leonard Street to build a fund focused entirely on "rehabilitation" of housing in Kansas City's urban core, Startland News reported. "e 'first-of-its-kind partnership' will provide title-clearing services and loans to rehabbers restoring abandoned homes in the urban core," said AltCap President Ruben Alonso III. "AltCap will manage the funds, underwriting, and services loans to rehabbers that are working in partnership with neighbor- hood associations." "e short-term loans will be used to hire laborers, contractors, plumbers, electricians, and other construction trades, creating local jobs and supporting economic activity, while revitalizing homes and neighborhoods in the urban core," he added. Altcap noted that blighted areas are magnets for crime, reducing property values and lowering the quality of life for residents in the area. "Abandoned or vacant homes can have a significant blighting effect on neighborhoods," AltCap said. "e resulting decrease in property values and frequent increase in illicit activity and crime can lead to further deterio- ration and disinvestment of the neighborhood. AltCap's KC Home Rehabber Loan Fund is created to support small contractors in helping to revitalize Kansas City neighborhoods nega- tively impacted by the effects of abandoned or vacant homes." e investment pool aims to provide the funding necessary for small contractors to acquire and rehab homes, turning them into affordable housing for low-income, working families. OHIO JPMorgan Chase Grants Help Shore Up Ohio Affordable Housing JPMorgan Chase & Company has com- mitted to multiyear plan to help promote affordable housing and new business growth in three Ohio cities—Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. e bank has announced a three-year, $3 million grant to fund what it's calling the "OH3C Collaborative." According to the bank's statement, the effort is designed to strengthen the efforts of community develop- ment financial institutions (CDFIs) "to help more neighborhood residents start and sustain businesses that create jobs and build wealth in the target communities, while also providing the CDFIs with capital to finance the develop- ment of more affordable housing options and commercial spaces to house neighborhood- based businesses." JPMorgan Chase & Company won't be fighting this battle alone: Columbus Business First reported that the bank will collaborate with the Columbus-based Economic Commu- nity Development Institute (ECDI) and Ohio Capital Finance Corp., Cleveland's Village Capital Corp., and the Cincinnati Develop- ment Fund. "JPMorgan Chase is committed to helping everyone share in the rewards of a growing MINNESOTA Single-Family Home Building Dips in Twin Cities Although the number of construction permits took a sharp uptick in September, the good news didn't extend to the single- family homes sector. According to a Keystone Report released by Housing First Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul saw double-digit increases in permits for townhomes and rental apartments in September 2018, but permits for new single-family homes dropped sharply. Minnesota's Star Tribune suggested in an Oc- tober report that "rising construction costs and higher mortgage rates are eroding demand for more-expensive move-up new houses." Housing First Minnesota's Keystone Report found that area homebuilders received 482 permits to build 1,277 units during the month of September, with only 444 of those permits allocated for single- family homes. e Star Tribune reported that this number represented a 19 percent decrease over the previous year, even as townhome permits increased by 60 percent year-over-year. In a statement accompanying the Keystone Report, Tom Wiener, President of Housing First Minnesota, said, "e rise in townhouse construction undoubtedly reflects builders' efforts to reach the largest share of the market. Even as we saw more homes hit the market these past few months, we are still far below the levels of housing inventory we need." David Siegel, Executive Director of Hous- ing First Minnesota, cited increased interest rates, import tariffs, and a lack of sufficient workforce as likely contributors to the ongoing lack of single-family home construction. "e drop in single-family housing is concerning as we know builders are facing increasing headwinds," Siegel said. The Zillow Home Value Index reported that the median home value in Missouri in September 2018 was roughly $156k. KNOW THIS

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