Davis County is one step closer to building what county staff describe as its first permanent supportive housing facility after commissioners held a public hearing Friday on a $4.7 million federal loan application that would fund land acquisition for a 60-unit complex serving homeless residents.
The three-member Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to open and close the hearing at the Aug. 14 special session in Farmington. No further commission action was required. The hearing satisfies a federal procedural step before the completed application goes to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval.
No residents spoke at the hearing.
The county is requesting the maximum amount allowed under HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee program: roughly five times its annual Community Development Block Grant allocation of $900,000 to $950,000.
"The county gets anywhere between 900 and 950,000 annually. So, five times that is about $4.7 million," Community Services Manager Ryan Steinbeigle told commissioners. "We'd go after this Section 108 loan, and we could use that money to acquire land."
What the money covers
Of the $4.7 million, $3.5 million would go toward land acquisition, $700,000 toward site preparation and improvements, and $500,000 toward soft costs such as architectural and engineering fees. The total project is estimated at $20 million. The remaining $15.3 million in construction costs would come from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Private Activity Bonds, Utah Olene Walker Housing Loan Funds, county CDBG/HOME funds and private debt.
The county already has a specific site in mind. Commissioners ratified a $4 million purchase contract on July 28 for a 5.258-acre former Tanner Clinic property in Clearfield, as we reported Aug. 8. That deal is contingent on HUD approving the Section 108 loan and runs through Nov. 30.
Growing need
The application cites Point-in-Time count data showing Davis County's homeless population rose from 71 households in 2021 to 127 in 2025, a nearly 79% increase.
Commissioner Lorene Kamalu, speaking in her capacity as a member of the public, delivered the hearing's only comment. She noted her 7.5 years on the commission and said she sits on the board of Davis Behavioral Health, which reported serving more than 500 county residents in a single year who lacked a permanent address.
Kamalu described the county's intended role as a facilitator, not an operator, saying the county can acquire land and use it as an incentive for organizations that build and run supportive housing.
What comes next
The finished application now goes to HUD. No timeline for a federal decision was stated at the hearing.
If approved, the county plans to select a developer through a competitive RFP process. The developer would build at least 60 studio and one-bedroom apartments affordable to residents earning 30% or less of Area Median Income, with rental assistance such as Project-Based Vouchers covering a majority of units.
Seven organizations have committed to provide on-site services: Davis Behavioral Health, Bountiful Food Pantry, Davis Technical College, PARC, Open Doors, Intermountain Health Care and Utah State University.
The full project timeline spans 48 months: site identification and loan approval in the first year, financing and design in year two, construction through month 42, and lease-up with a target grand opening at month 47. Annual loan repayments are expected to stay between $350,000 and $400,000, funded primarily by rental income and operating subsidies from the project itself.
