Dorms on Sage Street - Bridge Housing Option for Low Income Workers

A piece of our region's affordable housing and homeless puzzle.

As summer hits its peak, meetings are occurring daily throughout Reno to advance, very quickly, the “Dorm” style housing project.  Much speculation is being made about how the project will unfold. One persistent misconception is that this is housing for the chronically homeless. Nothing could be further from the truth. As currently designed, this is primarily transitional housing option for low-income working people.  To qualify to move in, a resident, meeting with a leasing agent, must prove they have an income of more than $1,300 a month, roughly the equivalent to minimum wage for a full-time worker.  For retirees, that income may be from other sources such as social security. Applicants must meet the minimum income level so they will be able to pay the rent with roughly 30% of their income, leaving the majority of their money available to them for food, transportation, clothing, medical, recreation, and other expenses. The Dorms on Sage Street will be a safe environment. We anticipate that many, and perhaps most, of the residents will own vehicles, so secure parking is part of the design.  The complex will not be unlike many apartment complexes, although the tradeoff for the low rent is the dorm concept… a private room, with a shared restroom and common kitchen.  We anticipate this to be transitional, or bridge housing as most residents will be saving up to move to an apartment. They can live in the Dorms while working to improve their income and credit history, as those are critical to moving to a studio or one-bedroom with rent likely more than twice the cost of their dorm room. We are breaking ground this month and anticipate delivery of the buildings in mid-August.  Following the placement of the structures and connections to utilities, the work on the grounds will take place adding landscaping, parking, and other amenities.  We are incredibly grateful to Summit Engineering and Q & D Construction for their leadership and contributions of expertise and services, and to many others who are making this project possible. Contributions by community-minded contractors will be in excess of $1 million. More than $1 million has been contributed so far, which has enabled us to move forward with the very aggressive timeline. Additional gifts of more than $2 million are still required to complete the project so please help spread the word.  I can be a point of contact for interested donors and am very happy to provide information and meet with any interested parties. Chris Askin, President, and CEO  775-333-5499 Connecting people who care with causes that matter