Housing for homeless vets planned near VA clinic

The Housing Authority of Springfield is planning a residential project for homeless veterans near the south-side U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Gene Taylor Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

Katrena Wolfram, executive director of the federally funded program that does business as HAS Properties, said the development hinges on low-income housing tax credits that have not yet been secured from the state. Among federal aid sources, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided 76 rental assistance vouchers to help veterans move into the planned housing, she said.

Wolfram said HAS Properties purchased a lot at 2021 W. Kingsley St. for the project that calls on 28 to 30 one- and two-bedroom units of affordable housing. Greene County assessor and recorder records show HAS Properties bought the 1.6 acres — located between BancorpSouth and WoodSpring Suites Springfield behind Price Cutter — in December 2018 from SMF Holdings LLC. A recorder filing shows a deed of trust with a note amount of $383,200 related to the purchase.

Wolfram said the timeline and cost of the project depends on the authority receiving tax credits from the state. She said HAS Properties hired Louisiana-based BGC Advantage as developer and Springfield-based Oke-Thomas and Associates Inc. as project architect.