City Rebuilds Home for Austin Resident

Today, City officials, neighbors and friends gathered to celebrate a "welcome home" ceremony for Celia Chapa. Ms. Chapa and her son moved into their newly reconstructed home which was made possible through the Austin Housing Finance Corporation's (AHFC), Homeowner Rehabilitation Loan Program.

Ms. Chapa, a native Austinite, lived in her previous home located in east Austin for 21 years. However, over the years, the home deteriorated and was plagued with plumbing and roofing problems and a sinking floor. In order to help preserve Austin's older housing stock and to keep the fabric of the neighborhood intact, the AHFC created the Homeowner Rehabilitation Loan Program.

The program assists homeowners with repairs like foundation, roofing, plumbing and electrical work. In the event that a home is economically infeasible to repair, the AHFC demolishes the existing home and reconstructs a new S.M.A.R.T. Housing^TM certified home. S.M.A.R.T. (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced, and Transit-Oriented) Housing^TM is a service designed to stimulate the creation of reasonably priced homes in Austin. Currently, the AHFC has nine more reconstruct projects in the pipeline which means funding will be expended for this fiscal year.

Additional home repair programs available to Austin citizens include the Architectural Barrier Removal Program which provides free housing modifications to seniors over 62 years old and to the disabled. For emergency home repairs like plumbing, roofing and electrical issues, citizens may contact the Austin Area Urban League at 478-7176.

For more information on the AHFC's home repair programs, contact 476-3863.

The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Please call 974-3100 (voice) or 974-3102 (TDD) for assistance. This project is made possible by funding from HUD through the City of Austin.

CONTACT: Brenda Ham, 974-3175 (voice), 802-7105 (pager)