Register Today for NHC's Annual Budget Forum

This Friday, March 12, NHC will host its Annual Budget Forum at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. The budget forum will provide both public and private-sector housing leaders with an extensive first look at housing concerns within the context of the federal budget proposal. In particular, this year’s event will focus on rental housing and homelessness assistance programs included in the President's FY 2011 Budget Proposal.

Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary, Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will be the keynote speaker for the event.

A panel discussion will be moderated by Conrad Egan, NHC immediate past president.

Panelists include:

• Jonathan Harwitz, deputy chief of staff, Policy and Programs, HUD;
• Nan Roman, president and CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness;
• Sheila Crowley, executive vice president, National Low Income Housing Coalition; and
• Sarah Wartell, president and CEO, Center for American Progress.

Register for this Complimentary Event!

A paper ticket will not be issued for this event. You will receive an email from Eventbrite on behalf of NHC to confirm your participation. Attendees who registered online may check in at the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitor Center beginning at 9 a.m. EST on March 12.

For more information, please contact NHC Policy Associate Clare Duncan at (202) 466-2121 Ext. 228 or at cduncan@nhc.org.

Guest Blogger Nancy Murray: Why Demolish?

In today’s disposable society, we don’t expect anything to last. From our daily paper coffee cup to the annual iPod upgrade, we do not seek goods with permanence. This outlook has permeated the market for housing, resulting in an epidemic of teardown in residential communities. Blighted homes in economically depressed neighborhoods; moderately sized 1950s ranches in a suddenly trendy area; communities that lie in the path of commercial or transportation development – in all of these situations it has become common practice to demolish what has become functionally obsolete and haul it to the landfill.

The greenest house is the one that is already built – this is the foundation of the Builders of Hope model. We have built our process around this existing framework, capturing the top quality materials and craftsmanship of yesterday’s single family home construction and retrofitting it with modern technology, open floor plans and energy efficiencies to create a home for today’s lifestyle. We have found that, contrary to popular opinion, rehabilitation – even Extreme Green Rehabilitation – can be done affordably, quickly and sustainably. Most importantly, the model is replicable throughout the country.

The national teardown epidemic has expanded in recent years to encompass the aging stock of 1970s-era public housing developments, high rises and large multifamily complexes. While they have failed as experiments in affordable housing, they provide a perfect opportunity for a creative, responsible solution to both the issues of affordable housing and sustainable rebuilding.

As the leading advocates, builders and administrators of affordable housing throughout the nation, it is the obligation of NHC members to accept the challenge of retaining and increasing the quantity of available stock, while we take a serious look at the quality. There is another way, a more responsible method for addressing aged housing on a larger scale to ensure we meet the changing needs of the U.S. population – without also taxing our environmental resources. It is our task to change the prevailing mindset in our disposable society into one that first asks “Why Demolish?”

Nancy Murray is the CEO of NHC Member Partner Builders of Hope, Inc.

It is important to note that Builders of Hope received the NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award for its work in helping to close the gap between the availability and the need for safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly urban housing solutions in the Raleigh, NC, area.

Benefits of "Greening" Subsidized Housing Strong Given Tight Budget Outlook

The release of the Administration’s FY 2011 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget request marked the start of what will be an unusually challenging budget season for affordable housing programs, given mounting concern about the deficit. In such a tight fiscal environment it’s important to use available funds as cost-effectively as possible and to look for resources outside the regular HUD budget to help meet housing needs. Efforts to improve energy-efficiency in subsidized housing offer opportunities on both fronts.

HUD spends about $6 billion a year on utility subsidies, close to a fifth of the amount it spends on rental assistance. Subsidized housing, like the majority of older housing, tends to use energy inefficiently. This is true not just for large developments with public housing and other project-based subsidies, but also for the single-family and small multi-family rentals where most families with Section 8 housing assistance vouchers live. Energy-efficiency improvements could generate very large savings, cutting energy costs by 20 percent or more in some buildings.

“Greening” initiatives could also direct new resources to subsidized housing. Last year’s economic recovery package made available $600 million for energy-efficiency improvements in public housing and $250 million for other subsidized housing. Congress has also considered adding more funds through jobs legislation this year. In addition, the House and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee have passed climate change bills that would fund subsidized housing efficiency improvements by setting aside some proceeds from auctioning “cap and trade” allowances to help control greenhouse gas emissions.

In each case, the funds would not only generate important environmental benefits, but also help preserve needed subsidized housing at a time when resources are hard to come by.

Will Fischer is a policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Administration Pushing for a “Cash for Caulkers” Program

Yesterday President Obama spoke about the Administration’s push to implement a "Cash for Caulkers" program to give rebates to homeowners who make energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes. Officially known as Home Star, the plan is expected to appear in either another jobs bill or in separate energy legislation later this year.

The rebate amount will be determined by how much the upgrades reduce a home’s energy usage. If homeowners cut energy use by 20 percent, they could be reimbursed for half the cost of their energy saving purchases, for a maximum rebate of up to $3,000. Those who complete a more comprehensive home energy audit, reducing energy use by more than 20 percent, could receive up to $8,000, according to people familiar with the plan. A typical home energy audit and retrofit costs $5,000 to $8,000 and generally reduces monthly energy bills by 20-40 percent.

Watch the video below from CNN Money to learn more about the cost savings associated with a home energy audit.



Click here to see NHC’s related "Cash for Caulkers" policy statement.

Guest Blogger Caitlin Uzzel: Green Preservation – Take a Tour!

Preserving affordable housing is inherently resource efficient – the greenest building is the one that already exists. Retrofitting existing affordable housing to increase energy efficiency and conserve water creates green jobs and healthier homes, and also leads to lower utility bills and operating costs.

Galen Terrace Apartments in Washington, DC, is a prominent example of green preservation.

Once a deteriorating property, Galen Terrace was saved by a handful of courageous residents who were determined not to be forced from their homes. They organized the Galen Terrace Tenants Association to exercise their right of first purchase under D.C. law, and chose the National Housing Trust/Enterprise Preservation Corporation and Somerset Development Company to help them acquire the- Section 8 property and make substantial green improvements.

In 2007, Galen Terrace re-opened as the first rehabilitated property in DC to meet all of the green criteria under the Enterprise Green Communities Initiative and the city’s new green building requirements.

Learn more about the many green improvements made to Galen Terrace by taking an Online Interactive Tour today. For this tour, the National Housing Trust has created a 3D replica of the building, and has highlighted all of the energy and water conserving improvements.

Caitlin Uzzel serves as public policy associate at the National Housing Trust.

New Study Shows Green Building Gives Boost to U.S. Economy Through Jobs

According to a recent study from the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC) and Booz Allen Hamilton, green building activities will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and push $554 billion into the American economy, including $396 billion in wages, into 2013.

Additionally, the study finds that green construction spending currently supports more than 2 million American jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages.

“Our goal is for the phrase ‘green building’ to become obsolete, by making all building and retrofits green – and transforming every job in our industry into a green job,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC.

Read More

Guest Blogger Madeline Fraser-Cook: Building Sustainable Communities

As the nation's largest community development support organization, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) believes that greener communities are key to building sustainable communities of choice and opportunity, which provide good places to work, do business and raise children. This requires investments in sustainability at the neighborhood level that:

• Preserve family income and wealth by lowering utility bills and increasing home values;
• Connect neighborhoods to green job and business opportunities;
• Provide schools with better learning environments, and stronger operating margins; and
• Support healthier lifestyles by exposing residents to fewer toxic substances, lessening respiratory problems, improving recreational space, and increasing access to healthy foods.

Since 2004, LISC's Green Development Center has provided financial resources, technical information, partnership opportunities, education, and policy support to LISC programs and the community development field. In addition to investments in commercial and community facilities, LISC has invested more than $665 million, resulting in over 20,000 units of green affordable housing.

Our Green Development Center ensures that we are integrating green best practices into our comprehensive community development approach. We recognize that green cannot be an add-on to the projects we support. In order to green projects most cost-effectively, environmentally sensitive strategies must be a programmatic component of the project. We also are cognizant of the fact that, for many people, there is still a learning curve when it comes to green. That is why we offer a variety of services to help community developers choose the best greening approach for their projects. In addition to grants, equity and loans, we offer technical assistance through Web-based seminars, publications and direct assistance to our local partners. Green at LISC is also much broader than affordable housing. It includes green jobs programming, support for greening schools, technical assistance around improving the environmental performance of early childhood education centers, and an emerging effort to help small businesses to green their operations.

LISC believes that effective community development goes hand in hand with improving the environmental conditions in the neighborhoods in which we work. This approach not only saves dollars through energy and water efficiency, but it also provides less quantifiable benefits such as improved health outcomes and a more general sense of wellbeing that comes with living in vibrant, aesthetically pleasing, economically viable neighborhoods. For more information on LISC’s green work, please visit: www.lisc.org/gdc

Madeline Fraser-Cook is the director of LISC’s Green Development Center.