Recently our President & CEO, Aaron Darden, was interviewed for a piece in the Wichita Beacon about the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program as Wichita’s Housing Authority moves forward with plans to take advantage of the benefits RAD. You can read the article here.
Celia Hack does a great job of explaining the RAD program in the article:
“RAD essentially changes the classification of housing units from public housing to project-based Section 8 housing. Units are no longer owned by the federal government but by a public or nonprofit entity, like a public housing authority.”
By converting from Public Housing to Project-Based Voucher (PBV) Section 8 properties, Hack explains, housing authorities “can use loans and other funding to pay for renovations.
This is exactly why we at Tulsa Housing Authority (THA) are converting our entire portfolio through RAD over the next few years – to allow us to take advantage of alternate means of funding to make needed renovations at our properties.
To date, THA has converted 1,328 apartments from Public Housing to Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers:
- Pioneer Plaza – 191 units
- LaFortune Tower – 201 units
- Parkview Terrace – 225 units
- East Central Village – 150 units
- Apache Manor – 160 units
- Sandy Park – 158 units
- Country Club Gardens – 243 units
The first of our properties to undergo renovation through RAD are Sandy Park and Apache Manor. The transformation at these sites sets the stage for what we hope to achieve throughout our entire portfolio of 15 communities.
Throughout the process of RAD conversion, residents are protected with specific rights, including the right to remain at the property post-conversion and continued affordable rent (not to exceed 30% of their income).
As shared in the article, several housing authorities across the U.S. are taking advantage of the RAD program.
“RAD is truly one of the best ways to transform lives and communities,” said Darden. “Everyone deserves to live in a safe, nice home they can afford, and with RAD, we’re able to provide that to Tulsa’s most vulnerable.”
For more information on THA’s plans to utilize the RAD program, visit https://www.tulsahousing.org/development/rental-assistance-demonstration-rad/.
Tulsa Housing Authority 