Learn About the Portsmouth Housing Authority

By Doug Smith

Our guests on Portsmouth this Week were Jim Dilley, Executive Director of the Portsmouth Housing Authority and the Coastal Housing Corporation and Richard Longolucco, Management Consultant and Property Manager of the Coastal Housing Corporation.

The Portsmouth Housing Authority was created in 1964 by the Town of Portsmouth to engage or assist in the development or operation of low-income housing pursuant to the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.). The Authority administers public housing, Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance and Section 8 project-based rental assistance programs pursuant to annual contributions contracts with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Portsmouth Housing Authority manages Quaker Manor, a 40 unit housing complex for elderly and disabled residents located at 2368 East Main Road in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Quaker Manor was built in the late 1960s and has 18 one bedroom apartments and 22 efficiency apartments. It is located near the Portsmouth public safety complex and Town Hall. Nearby are medical offices, restaurants, banks, a grocery store and a pharmacy.

Portsmouth Housing Authority also administers 85 Housing Choice Vouchers under the Section 8 tenant-based and project-based rental assistance programs. This program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly and the disabled to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments. The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing developments.

The Authority works on a joint venture basis with Coastal Housing Corporation, an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit development corporation that is an Instrumentality of Portsmouth Housing Authority. An Instrumentality is an entity related to the PHA whose assets, operations and management are legally and effectively controlled by the PHA, through which PHA functions or policies are implemented and that utilize public housing funds or public housing assets for the purpose of carrying out public housing development functions of the PHA.

Coastal Housing Corporation (CHC) develops and manages affordable housing for families of low and moderate income. As a development agency, Coastal has purchased nine units of affordable housing in Portsmouth and Warwick, Rhode Island. Coastal also has developed four HUD 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly developments on land abutting Portsmouth Housing Authority and Quaker Manor at 2368 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI. Those developments are Quaker Estates of Portsmouth (five units), Quaker Estates II (five units), Quaker Estates III (five units) and Quaker Estates IV (eighteen units).

Tenants in public housing pay rent based on their income. Generally, the Total Tenant Payment (TTP) is 30% of the tenant’s adjusted income. The Average Total Tenant Payment for Portsmouth Housing Authority is $299.00 compared to the state average of $359.00.

Their website at http://portsmouthhousing-public.sharepoint.com/ provides details of the Housing Authority’s organization and functions.

Portsmouth this Week, the “Voice of Portsmouth Town Hall” is a weekly public TV program sponsored by Town Administrator John Klimm to provide a forum for issues of concern to the Portsmouth Community. These programs are aired on Cox Channel 18 at various times and are posted on Youtube for viewing anytime. Links to this and all past editions can be accessed from the Town’s website at www.portsmouthri.com.

The Aug 29 Edition of Portsmouth This Week – Portsmouth Housing Authority - is also available online at: http://youtu.be/EeOkPQ-uBdA