It's a question that doesn't just echo in the boardrooms of businesses or the offices of executives but reverberates through the lives of every resident.

A single parent working tirelessly to provide for their children.

A recent college graduate dreaming of their first home.

A seasoned professional who calls Rapid City home but finds the dream of homeownership slipping away.

Affordable housing isn’t a term for low-income families. It is housing that a household can pay for, while still having money left over for necessities like food, transportation, health care, and more. The Federal government would say that no more than 30% of a household’s income should go toward housing.

What does that look like in Rapid City?

As of September 12, in Rapid City, the average monthly rent is $1,213. That means that in order to afford rent, a household would need to make $4,332.14 a month or $24.99 an hour. Unfortunately, that is not the reality of the community right now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly wage in Rapid City is only $964, or $3,856 a month (most recent data was for July 2023).

Fortunately, Rapid City has organizations working together to find solutions to what nationally has been described as a housing crisis.

“Housing that is affordable is critical for community development, workforce stability, and household security,” explained Liz Hamburg, CEO of the Black Hills Area Community Foundation. “It is a basic human need.”

The BHACF has played a leading role in addressing affordable housing in Rapid City since 2017. After several housing summits and market studies, one tool that was developed was the Strategic Housing Trust Fund. This Fund takes a long-term approach to housing issues through low-interest revolving loans.

Some of the goals of the strategic housing trust fund and initiative include: increasing housing inventory, accessibility, and stability; reducing housing insecurity; and creating a sustainable and flexible tool that helps build more workforce housing.

“The Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund is designed to be a perpetual asset, a tool that can grow and continue impact housing work for generations,” explained Hamburg.

 Since its creation in 2020, the fund has grown to roughly $15 Million key partners have been:

• $5 million matching grant from the John T. Vucurevich Foundation to challenge the city to contribute
• $5 million in Vision Funds from Rapid City to fulfill the match
• $2 million from the Bush Foundation
• $150,000 from Elevate Rapid City
• Other funding from private foundations, businesses, and individual donors

To date, five loans have been awarded. These projects will create or retain over 400 rental units that low-income families can afford.

• CommonBond’s The Radiant: 42-unit complex with 30 below market rent units. Now open.
• Lloyd’s Springs Edge: 41-unit complex. Opening in 2024
• Blueline’s Sagebrush Flats: 180-unit complex, all below market rate rents. Opening in 2024
• Black Hills Works Residential Services: Two, 4-bedroom townhouses. Opening 2024
• CommonBond also purchased two existing properties totaling 156 units. This purchase ensures both properties remain affordable instead of moving to market rents.

Rapid City was also selected as one of five cities to participate in the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab Peer Cities Network. For eight months, leaders will engage with peers, policy experts, and housing researchers to address pressing local housing challenges. Representatives from the John T. Vucurevich Foundation, City of Rapid City, BHACF, and Elevate Rapid City will be participating with peers from Cheyenne, Wyoming; Skokie, Illinois; Jackson, Tennessee; and Olympia, Washington.

“As Rapid City continues to grow, we look forward to learning with other communities on how best to accommodate this growth while enhancing our quality of life and our neighborhoods,” said Alan Solano, CEO of the Vucurevich Foundation.

These two projects are only a glimpse into the collaborative efforts happening in Rapid City to address the housing needs. Being the 36^th fastest-growing city in the country does not come without its growing pains. Maintaining the quality of life we all know and love, while ensuring the people who live here can afford to meet their basic needs is a challenge community leaders will not be shying away from.