Nashville’s churches — and their land holdings — could boost affordable housing. Here’s how Metro wants to help.

At this site of newly built homes, big front windows look out over pristine sidewalks. Inside, they’re so new that the smell of fresh paint still hangs in the air. They’re undeniably appealing for the average renter.

But they’re not the typical new build in North Nashville.

That’s because these six homes sit on land owned by the nearby Clark United Methodist Church. Back in 2018, at the urging of the late Rev. Herbert Lester, the church began taking steps toward developing the site. In the time since, the role of churches, and the land they own, are an increasing focus of Nashville’s efforts to improve housing affordability.

“It was his vision and dream because of the gentrification that was happening in this area,” said Janice Woodard, the chair of Clark’s Community Development Corporation. “He felt it necessary to do something so regular families could still live in this area.”

While Lester’s vision is about to come to life — rental applications are now open —the planning and building process hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing over the last six years.

The organization, which received $400,000 in city funding through the Barnes Housing Trust Fund, encountered obstacles along the way — like a water-line replacement costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That’s where Metro wants to come in.

Metro as the middleman

Since Clark completed the homes, the city has made some reforms to prioritize affordable housing projects in the permitting process.

But they’re also looking for ways to encourage more of this type of development. Land availability is a major barrier for affordable housing in Nashville, and many faith based organizations own developable plots.

A report from ThinkTennessee and the Urban Institute looked at land holdings by faith-based institutions, higher education campuses and hospitals. Faith-based institutions owned the most land, by far — 1,613 parcels (or, 3,491 acres). By comparison, that’s more than three times the land owned by higher ed institutions and hospitals combined.

Not all of that is developable — the report estimates around 57% could be used for housing development. But getting from landowner to affordable housing proprietor isn’t always easy.

“Most of the institutions have the land, but maybe not have the funding to take it to the next step, which will require them to either partner with the developer or work with Metro or the state intensely to figure out what the steps are to get them there,” said Adriane Harris, ThinkTennessee’s senior housing policy advisor.

So the city is creating a “Faith Based Development Institute.” Earlier this summer, Nashville won a competitive $5 million dollar federal grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s PRO Housing program. Metro plans to use at least $500,000 to launch the institute.

Building off of a series of workshops ThinkTennessee has already convened, the institute will bring together churches, developers, architects, attorneys — and any key players in affordable housing development process — and provide technical assistance.

Angie Hubbard, the director of Metro’s Housing Division, said the city intends to act as “the middle piece of the pipeline to connect them.”

“What we were hearing is there are congregations, faith institutes that are interested in using their land,” Hubbard said. “Many are getting approached by private developers to sell it or lease it, and they’re not quite sure if that’s the right decision for them.”

This means holding workshops to gauge the needs of organizations and providing guidance on how to navigate things like financing, permitting and the construction process.

“Faith institutes are not landlords, they’re not property managers,” Hubbard said. “That’s the reason why we’re creating this institute — to connect them with the right partners who can do things.”

Hubbard says there is still a long way to go. Funds for the project won’t be dispersed until the spring, and even then she says it might be years before the impact is felt.

But, as was the case with Clark’s project, these organizations’ faith can offer a reason to persevere. Woodard draws from the Bible.

“I’m always reminded,” she said, ” ‘Let us not grow weary by doing good, because a new season, you will reap the harvest.’ ”

The next step for the institute is for the $5 million to be approved by Nashville’s Metro Council. It will appear before the body in October.