NORTH ADAMS — Nationwide, public housing buildings are often old and in need of repair, but federal funding hasn't kept pace with demand, officials say.

To get around this shortfall, the North Adams Housing Authority has turned one of its public housing developments — the Greylock Valley Apartments — into apartments that have project-based vouchers, or housing subsidies, attached to them.

Now, instead of receiving a lump sum to cover operating costs, the authority will collect full fair-market rent for each apartment, creating a more consistent revenue stream without changing anything for tenants.

The housing authority completed a Rental Assistance Demonstration conversion on its property, at its Greylock Valley Apartments property, 48 Angeli St.

"The public housing funding model left us unable to make the investments our residents need and deserve," said Jennifer Hohn, the executive director of the authority. "[Rental Assistance Demonstration] changes that."

The North Adams Housing Authority runs four federally-assisted public housing developments in North Adams. Those buildings house apartments that are restricted to low-income residents, which require tenants to put 30 percent of their gross income toward rent.

However, that rent is not enough to sustain operations for the housing authority. The federal government covers the remaining costs through congressional appropriations, Hohn said, which have "been consistently underfunded for decades."

The North Adams Housing Authority's conversion will allow it to use financing tools that it otherwise wouldn't be able to, including mortgaging the property, using it as collateral and taking on outside financing.

Project-based vouchers are similar to public housing, as the subsidies are attached to units and require tenants pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. These vouchers are usually held by private organizations like Hearthway, the nonprofit housing developer.

For the North Adams Housing Authority, funding is the key difference between public housing and vouchers. For vouchers, the federal government covers the difference between what the tenant pays and the area's fair-market rent, a federally calculated rate, for that unit.

In North Adams, the fair-market rent is $1,302 for a one-bedroom. Because rents are adjusted annually, the developers get more revenue as rents increase.

"That shift from year-to-year appropriations to a stable, predictable contract is what we mean by a more sustainable funding platform," Hohn said.

The authority completed the conversion by transferring the building to a separate nonprofit that the housing authority controls and owns, she said. That process did not take any outside investment and was funded by existing resources.

The biggest advantage this conversion gives the housing authority is the ability to mortgage the property, use it as collateral or seek outside financing, Hohn said. This is something public housing developments can't do, as the use of that funding has strict guidelines.

That will allow the housing authority "to pursue capital improvements it could not otherwise fund," she added.

The housing authority plans to convert its other three housing developments using the same process, Hohn said.

"As for the residents, they should notice very little change," Hohn said. "The positive change they should eventually see is in the physical condition of their homes as we're able to reinvest."