1. Gertrude Flats Apartments
The City of Wheeling, WV nominated the Gertrude Flats Apartments project for a 2014 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award, because this successful affordable housing project shows an outstanding use of HOME funds in the low-income, inner-city East Wheeling Community.
2014 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award

2. Gertrude Flats Apartments : A 3-Year CHDO Project
The Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless received CHDO set-aside funds from the Northern Panhandle HOME Consortium in Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010, for a combined total of CHDO funds in the amount of $258,700. The funds were used to acquire and extensively rehabilitate a 3-story, dilapidated 6-unit apartment building known as the Gertrude Flats Apartments. The building was originally constructed over 100 years ago, at the corner of 14th and Jacob and Streets in the low- and moderate- income East Wheeling neighborhood. The end project is a shelter that provides housing for up to 18 homeless adults with disabilities.
Gertrude Flats Apartments : A 3-Year CHDO Project
CHDO: Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless
CHDO Funding Total: $258,700

3. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Six apartments providing permanent supportive housing
for up to 18 homeless adults with disabilities.
This slide shows some interior areas of the 3-story building, which has been fully renovated with CHDO and other funds. Electrical and plumbing systems have been upgraded. A new furnace and central air conditioning have been installed. Every window has been replaced. Laundry facilities have been added. Kitchens and bathrooms have been fully remodeled. First floor entrance and units were redesigned to accommodate residents with impaired mobility. Each floor has two apartments that provide shared common facilities and three private sleeping rooms.
Shared Dining/Living Areas
Private Sleeping Room

4. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Six apartments providing permanent supportive housing
for up to 18 homeless adults with disabilities.
This slide shows the fully remodeled, clean kitchen and sanitary bathroom facilities.
Shared Kitchen
Shared Bath Facilities

5. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Residential Housing Program Provides Long Term Shelter and Supportive Services for up to 18 Clients
Previously Leased Units
Opened in June 2012
15 Clients Have Occupied to Date
Operating Costs Largely Covered by HUD’s Supportive Housing Program
The Residential Housing Program, as it is called, provides permanent housing in combination with supportive services for up to 18 homeless adults with disabilities. The program has existed successfully since 2006, however had done so by leasing apartments in a local apartment building for the clients to live in. Leasing, however, was often problematic, so the Homeless Coalition desired to control, manage, and maintain its own quality affordable units. The Coalition achieved ownership of a facility in the neighborhood it already calls home, in 2009, with the assistance of CHDO. After extensive renovation work, in June of 2012, the first clients were moved into the building, and to date there have been 15 occupants. The program continues to meet and exceed HUD’s benchmarks for Permanent Supportive Housing programs. HUD’s Supportive Housing Program covers a large portion of the operating costs for the facility, however the Homeless Coalition is required to provide a 25% match from other state and local resources.

6. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Total HOME-CHDO Funds: $258,700
30% of Total Project Cost
2008 CHDO $80,302 Acquisition of building;
New furnace.
2009 CHDO $89,350 Pre-construction costs.
2010 CHDO $89,048 Rehabilitation costs.
CHDO funds from 2008, 2009 and 2010 were used to acquire and renovate the building. The HOME-CHDO assistance was $258,700, and nearly 30% of the total project costs. (Total funding/project costs = $875,152.)

7. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Total Other Project Funds: $616,452
70% of Total Project Cost
FHLB Affordable Housing Program: $209,319
WV Affordable Housing Trust Fund: $150,000
WV Housing Development Fund: $125,292
SHP Operating funds: $10,000
HUD Supportive Housing Program: $61,142
Donations: $60,  
This slide lists the funding from other financial partners for the project, which provided a combined contribution of $616,452, or approximately 70% of the total project cost (Total funding = $875,152.) The funding sources included The Federal Home Loan Bank, the WV Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the WV Housing Development Fund, HUD’s Supportive Housing Program, and Private Donations.

8. Gertrude Flats Apartments
Exterior Renovations Underway
Today, while the facility is functionally housing homeless residents in the Residential Housing Program, a new phase of exterior renovations are underway, including repair of the damaged cornice, and chemical cleaning and masonry repointing of the exterior brickwork.
Restoration of Cornice
Chemically Cleaned Brickwork

9. Gertrude Flats Apartments
In closing, the City of Wheeling believed that this project productively used 3 years of HOME CHDO funds to address a documented affordable housing need in Wheeling. It allowed the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless to increase its valuable presence in the low- and moderate- income East Wheeling neighborhood, while contributing to the improvement of a deteriorating building and enhancing the neighborhood. It gave the GWCH the opportunity to own its own facility for its Residential Housing Program, and therefore, the ability to offer stable units to permanently and affordably house its disabled homeless residents. This significant investment of HOME funds has created a positive impact on the neighborhood and for the clients, and the City of Wheeling is proud for this project to have achieved the 2014 Audrey Nelson Award. Thank you.