Project Will Create 75 Housing Units for Homeless Veterans at Perry Point VA Medical Center
Governor Larry Hogan was recently joined by Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Kenneth C. Holt, Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary George Owings, officials from the VA Maryland Health Care System and HELP USA, as well as community stakeholders for the groundbreaking of the HELP Veterans Village. “HELP USA has been working on this project for almost a decade and we are gratified to see it finally begin construction,” said David Cleghorn, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development at HELP USA. “In a few short months, homeless veterans will start moving into brand-new homes on this beautiful site. From day one, they will be surrounded by clinical support and services from the VA, case management from HELP USA, and most importantly by each other, a group of like-minded veterans beginning their new lives. This project would not have been possible without the leadership of Governor Hogan, Assemblyman Hornberger, Secretary Holt and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.”
“The opening of the HELP Veterans Village will allow us to further our efforts to end veteran homelessness throughout Maryland by providing permanent and affordable housing close to important VA health care services and support programs,” said Dr. Adam M. Robinson, Jr., Director of the VA Maryland Health Care System. “We all have a moral obligation to ensure that the men and women who proudly wore the cloth of our nation have access to affordable housing, and that is what we are doing through this innovative partnership between the VA Maryland Health Care System, HELP USA and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.”
The project is being financed through various Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development resources, including short-term and long term bonds, 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, a Rental Housing Works loan, and energy funds. The project is being developed by HELP USA, a national homeless service and low-income housing nonprofit. Founded in 1986, the organization has built more than 16 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties and developed over 2,000 units of transitional and permanent housing in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. The project was designed by Kramer + Marks Architects, and will be built by general contractor Harkins Builders Inc. The HELP Veterans Village is one of seven developments currently underway at HELP USA.
