Salt Lake City loans Road Home money to save affordable housing complex

SALT LAKE CITY — The Wendell Apartments will remain an affordable housing complex.

The Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to loan $405,000 to The Road Home to purchase and renovate the 33-unit affordable housing building at 204 W. 200 North.

The Road Home, the nonprofit operator of Utah's largest homeless shelter, already had secured that same amount from the state through the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund.

The building's current owner, Multi-Ethnic Development Corp., has struggled to maintain the property and has been looking for a nonprofit housing group to take over ownership, city officials said.

The Road Home intends to step in to prevent the property from falling into foreclosure.

"The Wendell is a lovely apartment building," said Matt Minkevitch, executive director of The Road Home. "The current occupants and the city will benefit from our efforts to spruce up the units and maintain their affordability. Our partnership with the city will ensure that this housing will remain affordable for the long term."

During the renovation, one of the units will be converted into a case management office to assist current and future tenants. Those services will be funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, state programs and private donors, officials said.

The 30-year loan is being made through the city's housing trust fund. The Road Home has requested that payments be deferred for two years to allow for the building to be renovated.

Current tenants will be allowed to remain in the building, and no one would be displaced during renovations.

— Jared Page