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Citing Budget Woes, Cooper Slashes Latest Round Of Affordable Housing Grants

By

Tony GonzalezWPLN News (File)
Metro’s tax relief program reimburses homeowners for most or all of their paid property taxes.
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Mayor John Cooper announced a new round of grants for affordable housing projects on Tuesday through the Barnes Housing Trust, which helps Nashville nonprofits build low-cost apartments in the city. But citing budget shortfalls, the Mayor’s office is awarding just half of what it’s been in previous years.

Last spring then-mayor David Briley awarded nearly $10 million dollars to local nonprofits to build affordable housing. A year before that it was closer to $11 million.

But due to fiscal troubles, Mayor John Cooper is giving only a partial round of $5 million across seven organizations, which he says will help the city create 549 units of affordable housing.

In a statement, the Mayor’s office said it hoped to back an additional round of grants in the spring, if the budget allows.

Meribah Knight, Senior Reporter/Producer of Special Projects

Meribah Knight is a senior reporter and producer at Nashville Public Radio. She’s the host and creator of the Peabody Award-winning podcast, The Promise as well as Serial’s recent podcast The Kids of Rutherford County.

Her reporting on race and inequality in public schools prompted a wholesale shift in enrollment and attitudes toward school choice in one Nashville neighborhood. And her reporting on the juvenile justice system in Rutherford County, Tenn., led to the retirement of its juvenile judge and new oversight of its juvenile detention center.

Knight has received numerous national awards for her reporting, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the George Polk Award. Knight was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the Goldsmith Award, and twice a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Knight received her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

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