Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services

By:  Mark Dahlquist, Executive Director

Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services has an 18 year history of revitalizing the older, centrally located neighborhoods of Pocatello.  Our service area includes the Alameda, Lewis & Clark, Bonneville, Whittier, Old Town and College Neighborhoods, which encompass most all of the very oldest neighborhoods in Pocatello which are located on the valley floor.  We are the only organization in the community that focuses nearly all of its efforts into improving and revitalizing the residential core of the city.

There are many ways in which we provide older neighborhoods with a lift, including the support we provide to our six neighborhood associations.  Strong neighborhood management and grass roots efforts on the part of residents have countless benefits.  The outcome of this is to have residents feel in control of the future of their neighborhoods.  When a problem needs solving, they know enough other neighbors who can get together and solve the problem and at the same time have some fun and look out for one another.

Another way in which PNHS revitalizes Pocatello's central neighborhoods is by its building and construction efforts.  I would like to spend the remainder of this article explaining how our building programs benefit the community from both an aesthetic and an economic development standpoint.  Our affordable in fill construction program has produced huge benefits to the community for several years, now.  We call the homes we construct infill homes because they are built on empty vacant lots in older, established neighborhoods.  In several cases, blighted structures are removed to make way for the new construction.

A current infill development is taking place on the 500 block of South Johnson.  Three dilapidated, uninhabitable homes were recently torn down on that block to make way for new.  In a couple of months, we hope to be finished with three brand new, attractive and fully landscaped homes that will be occupied by first-time homebuyers.  We think these houses will be a tremendous boost that will bring new life to this neighborhood, just as PNHS infill new homes have done in other neighborhoods.

Since 1996, we have built over 105 of these homes.  Not once have we ever built in brand new subdivisions or in neighborhoods where overall median income levels are higher than the city-wide average.  I am convinced that without an organization like PNHS in the community, private development would not have picked up the slack in older neighborhoods.  Private development has shown a tendency to build larger homes on larger lots and on the fringes of town.  Also, the private market probably could not afford to purchase an existing (albeit blighted) home, pay for the demolition cost then build a new home in its place and still be able to make the home affordable enough to be purchased by an income-restricted first-time homebuyer.

Another line of business we have is our home rehabilitation loan program.  On average, we provide loans to approximately 15 income-restricted homeowners each year who can't qualify for home improvement loans from private lenders.  These homeowners don't qualify for traditional home improvement loans because they do not make enough income and/or their debt to income ratios are too high, so PNHS is often the only alternative other than the home slipping into further disrepair.     Once a loan is granted, PNHS facilitates the home rehabilitation process from beginning to end and helps line up licensed contractors through a bidding process.  In the end, the newly rehabilitated homes not only help a homeowner improve the life of the house, it often improves the appearance of the neighborhood in that several of these repairs take place on the exterior of the home (like new roofs, siding, porches, replacement of crumbling driveways, etc.).   There have been countless situations where PNHS has facilitated a home rehabilitation loan and the surrounding neighbors are inspired to fix up their own homes.

PNHS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is one of only two organizations in the State of Idaho chartered by NeighborWorks® America.   We are a certified Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), which provides the community with affordable housing development dollars that it wouldn't otherwise receive.    Additionally, nearly 20% of our operating budget is made up of private grants and contributions and approximately 45% of our budget is from program and service revenue.  We leverage the limited amount of Federal dollars we receive well and monitor our costs closely enough that we are able to recycle program income and inject it back into the economy with more projects.

PNHS stimulates the economy and assists private development.  During our last program year, 26 separate subcontractors worked on PNHS houses or rehabilitation projects and over $1.1 million in contracts were executed to private, local contractors.  All contractors hired for PNHS projects must be licensed, bonded and insured.  We hire out 100% of our construction projects to the private, local market.

Not counted in this $1.1 million is the employment of nine PNHS staff members, REALTOR commissions, fees and interest banks earn on first mortgages, and other soft costs.  A recent study also showed that the total of all PNHS housing units have added over $9.5 million in property tax values to the tax base.  Each year, PNHS homebuyers pay over $115,000 in local property taxes.

PNHS has been able to continue with its building efforts and put local contractors to work even during trying economic times.  At the same time, PNHS has continued to improve the livability of our central Pocatello neighborhoods.

If you would like more information about Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services, contact us at 232-9468 or visit our offices at 206 N. Arthur.You can look forward to more great projects in our central neighborhoods in the future.