Housing Needs Assessment and Strategy The County of Venango, Pennsylvania
Project Background
The County of Venango installed an advisory board two years ago to focus on the affordable housing needs of the County. Since its inception, the Affordable Housing Trust Board (AHTB) has overseen an upper-story reuse project that created two new affordable housing units in the County seat, and also a Down Payment Assistance Program that has helped fourteen (14) families become new homeowners. To ensure that County funds continue to be used in the most meaningful and beneficial ways, the County of Venango, at the request of the AHTB, has opted to carry out a housing needs assessment, housing market study and trust fund investment strategy.
Purpose of the Request for Qualifications
The County of Venango (Pennsylvania) is requesting submission of qualifications from experienced firms to provide the County with an assessment of the existing and future housing needs and market analysis within Venango County, and a realistic strategy to best address those needs. The end result of this project is envisioned to be a planning document to be used by decision-makers in the County, as well as a tool for private developers looking to fill unmet housing needs within the County. A component of the assessment must involve a descriptive inventory for any and all subsidized housing and special needs housing in the County, including but not limited to, public housing, Section 8 Vouchers, PHFA properties, emergency and transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing. Another required component of the assessment will be an analysis of the private housing market. At the completion of the study, the successful proposer will be expected to hold two workshops that are designed to review the study results and to educate the County staff and public study participants of the public and private trends and projections. A housing development project proforma, representative of most of the County's unmet housing needs must be prepared, which can be used as an example of the different funding avenues available to private and public housing developers in Venango County.
