Workforce housing is becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion, especially among those earning middle-level incomes. However, a lot of people are still skeptical about the term and what it entails.

The claim is that workforce housing can solve the affordable housing crisis in the country – at least one aspect. But how true are those claims? Read more to find out.

What Is Workforce Housing?

Before we can learn whether workforce housing is a viable solution to the affordable housing crisis, it is important to learn what workforce housing exactly is.

According to the Urban Land Institute (ULI), workforce housing provides affordable housing opportunities for those earning 60 to 120% of the area median income (AMI). This program targets middle-income workers, including teachers, healthcare employees, police officers, firefighters, retail employees, and other citizens with similar fields. However, not everyone who needs workforce housing will qualify for it.

Is Workforce Housing a Permanent Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis?

According to Maxwell Drever, workforce housing is one of the most convenient steps that can be taken to reduce the affordable housing crisis in the country. However, it is still up to debate whether this is a permanent solution.

Workforce housing provides affordable housing opportunities to people in need. Yet, it can take a lot of funds to keep the industry going, which can be a difficult task to keep up with.

The global pandemic has caused a lot of people to suffer financially. As a result, more people are eligible for workforce housing programs. Unfortunately, the number of affordable housing opportunities for middle-income citizens hasn’t seen the same rapid growth. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to house all the people who can qualify for the program.

In theory, workforce housing can potentially solve the affordable housing crisis of the country. However, to make these solutions practical, some major steps need to be taken.

Potential Solutions

Maxwell Drever also provides a viable solution to the lack of affordable housing opportunities.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a huge dent in the hotel industry. The lack of tourism caused millions of hotel rooms to remain empty for a good part of 2020. As a result, some hotels even went out of business. And the ones that are still in business haven’t seen the same profits as the pre-COVID days.

Maxwell Drever proposes that distressed hotels can be utilized to provide housing opportunities to people who need them. This way, not only can many people find a safe and comfortable place to live, but many hotels can be prevented from going completely out of business.

Bottom Line

The truth is that affordable housing is needed everywhere. And no matter how much the world changes, this need will still be there. At the moment, workforce housing is the most viable solution to this problem. However, it requires a lot of effort to be put into motion so that everyone can benefit from it.