Showing posts with label Pioneering Housing Strategies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pioneering Housing Strategies. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Simple Ideas to Scale Up: Builders of Hope
While last week’s NHC Annual Gala was a celebration, it was also a chance for housing leaders to come together and share innovative strategies for Housing’s New Era. As our communities face new, widespread challenges, often the most transformative solutions come from simple ideas that can be scaled up.
At the Gala last Wednesday, in addition to honoring the “Housing Person of the Year,” the housing community recognized Builders of Hope (BOH), based in Raleigh, NC, as the recipient of the Pioneering Housing Strategies Award. BOH’s “Building Green Communities” model hits three birds with one stone, accounting for the effects of climate change while providing affordable housing options and rebuilding the lives of former offenders re-entering the workforce.
BOH’s Emily Egge spoke with Open House at the Gala about how the award can help bring her organization’s model to the next level nationally. For more on “Building Green Communities,” please visit Builders of Hope’s web site.
Friday, January 29, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future
While the construction of new, green homes will help provide long-term environmental and economic benefits to communities nationwide, the industry must also remember the importance of upgrading the existing housing stock to be more energy efficient.
For its role in addressing this need, NHC Member Partner Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future’s (SAHF) was named as a NHC 2009 “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist. Specifically, the organization’s Energy Conservation Initiative is focused on helping upgrade and retrofit existing buildings. This multi-pronged initiative was created to address the full range of challenges associated with carrying out this agenda – from planning and implementation, to lack of data and financing.
To start, SAHF evaluated utility costs experienced by properties in its portfolio from around the nation. To complement the data gathering effort and build support for funding, SAHF designed a series of programs to provide highly subsidized retrofits at the outset. And because of the effort's scale, to migrate over time to financing with shallow or no grants and affordable debt to be serviced in large part by savings over time in lower utility bills.
While the initiative began by focusing on properties in SAHF’s portfolio, the organization’s work fueled its efforts at the national level. Specifically, SAHF collaborated with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Congress to promote and create wider funding opportunities for retrofits, including policies to retrofit HUD multifamily properties.
The GREEN Act, passed in September 2008, included a title developed by SAHF to temporarily increase section 8 rental subsidies to amortize part of the cost of loans taken out to finance energy retrofits. And, ultimately, due in part to SAHF’s work, the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act included a designated $250 million for the Office of Affordable Housing Preservation to provide program grants and loans to green HUD housing.
For its role in addressing this need, NHC Member Partner Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future’s (SAHF) was named as a NHC 2009 “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist. Specifically, the organization’s Energy Conservation Initiative is focused on helping upgrade and retrofit existing buildings. This multi-pronged initiative was created to address the full range of challenges associated with carrying out this agenda – from planning and implementation, to lack of data and financing.
To start, SAHF evaluated utility costs experienced by properties in its portfolio from around the nation. To complement the data gathering effort and build support for funding, SAHF designed a series of programs to provide highly subsidized retrofits at the outset. And because of the effort's scale, to migrate over time to financing with shallow or no grants and affordable debt to be serviced in large part by savings over time in lower utility bills.
While the initiative began by focusing on properties in SAHF’s portfolio, the organization’s work fueled its efforts at the national level. Specifically, SAHF collaborated with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Congress to promote and create wider funding opportunities for retrofits, including policies to retrofit HUD multifamily properties.
The GREEN Act, passed in September 2008, included a title developed by SAHF to temporarily increase section 8 rental subsidies to amortize part of the cost of loans taken out to finance energy retrofits. And, ultimately, due in part to SAHF’s work, the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act included a designated $250 million for the Office of Affordable Housing Preservation to provide program grants and loans to green HUD housing.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: San Diego Housing Commission
NHC Member Partner the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) was named as a 2009 NHC "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award finalist for its innovative plan to parlay the equity of its existing properties into additional affordable multi-family housing units for low- and moderate-income families, including seniors, within the city boundaries of San Diego.
SDHC is taking advantage of unique opportunities during a down economy to acquire properties in areas previously out of the agency’s economic reach. The commission’s Real Estate Department plans to acquire more than 40 properties – some distressed but others that are not– suitable to be converted to affordable housing. They include existing rentals, partially finished multi-family developments or other real estate with funding needs.
The plan envisions boosting SDHC’s portfolio of multi-family rental housing by more than 1,000 units over the next three to five years. When completed, the number of affordable housing units owned by the agency will increase from 1,371 to approximately 2,400.
To learn more about this initiative, please read this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
SDHC is taking advantage of unique opportunities during a down economy to acquire properties in areas previously out of the agency’s economic reach. The commission’s Real Estate Department plans to acquire more than 40 properties – some distressed but others that are not– suitable to be converted to affordable housing. They include existing rentals, partially finished multi-family developments or other real estate with funding needs.
The plan envisions boosting SDHC’s portfolio of multi-family rental housing by more than 1,000 units over the next three to five years. When completed, the number of affordable housing units owned by the agency will increase from 1,371 to approximately 2,400.
To learn more about this initiative, please read this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc.
NHC Member Partner Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH) was named as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its business model focused on the non-profit ownership and operation of affordable housing properties.
This model was developed to comprehensively and simultaneously help ensure the health of the deal, the health of the portfolio and the health of the sponsor organization. At the deal level, by underwriting for cash flow, this model ensures the long-term preservation of the housing by providing a cushion for the property in the event of hard times, and insulating it from risks posed by external factors. At the portfolio and sponsor level, this approach puts the sponsor organization in a better position to support and stabilize properties throughout its portfolio and to weather the ups and downs of the economic climate.
This approach has successfully contributed POAH’s ability to provide quality affordable housing to an increasing number of families. For example, the organization’s recent acquisition of a portfolio of 846 affordable rental units from a failing non-profit in Florida demonstrates both how the original sponsor’s financial weakness placed units throughout its portfolio at risk and how working with the properties on a portfolio basis created opportunities for preservation of the housing deals. Also, by focusing on the portfolio’s energy consumption, POAH is identifying ways to improve the financial stability of many of its properties. And, the organization’s corporate budget has been sustained in large part from site cash flow this past year, demonstrating how the health of non-profit sponsor organizations should be of real concern, as healthy organizations are in a better position to continue the work of building and preserving affordable housing opportunities.
This model was developed to comprehensively and simultaneously help ensure the health of the deal, the health of the portfolio and the health of the sponsor organization. At the deal level, by underwriting for cash flow, this model ensures the long-term preservation of the housing by providing a cushion for the property in the event of hard times, and insulating it from risks posed by external factors. At the portfolio and sponsor level, this approach puts the sponsor organization in a better position to support and stabilize properties throughout its portfolio and to weather the ups and downs of the economic climate.
This approach has successfully contributed POAH’s ability to provide quality affordable housing to an increasing number of families. For example, the organization’s recent acquisition of a portfolio of 846 affordable rental units from a failing non-profit in Florida demonstrates both how the original sponsor’s financial weakness placed units throughout its portfolio at risk and how working with the properties on a portfolio basis created opportunities for preservation of the housing deals. Also, by focusing on the portfolio’s energy consumption, POAH is identifying ways to improve the financial stability of many of its properties. And, the organization’s corporate budget has been sustained in large part from site cash flow this past year, demonstrating how the health of non-profit sponsor organizations should be of real concern, as healthy organizations are in a better position to continue the work of building and preserving affordable housing opportunities.
Friday, January 22, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Novel investment approaches play an integral part in funding the development of affordable housing projects and programs. NHC Member Partner the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) was noted as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its Housing Investment Fund (HIF), which provides funding for projects or initiatives that do not fit the parameters of existing programs, such as the tax credit and HOME Program, OHFA’s Housing Development Loan program, Housing Development Assistance Program or the Mortgage Revenue Bond program.
By targeting initiatives outside traditional program parameters, OHFA encourages proposals that serve Ohio residents and remove barriers to non-traditional applications, while advancing Agency policies. Approved by the OHFA Board with an initial balance of $8 million in September 2008, for-profit and non-profit organizations, public housing authorities and local governments were encouraged to apply to receive financial assistance for activities such as:
By targeting initiatives outside traditional program parameters, OHFA encourages proposals that serve Ohio residents and remove barriers to non-traditional applications, while advancing Agency policies. Approved by the OHFA Board with an initial balance of $8 million in September 2008, for-profit and non-profit organizations, public housing authorities and local governments were encouraged to apply to receive financial assistance for activities such as:
- Acquisition, holding and disposition of residential real estate;
- Pre-development, construction, and/or permanent financing for rental or for-sale development;
- Capital improvements for existing OHFA-financed properties;
- Capitalized operating subsidy;
- Funds for Individual Development Accounts linked to homeownership projects in which OHFA is a partner;
- Homeowner loans for refinance, new purchase, or renovation offered through participating lenders or nonprofit partners;
- Planning grants for comprehensive community redevelopment;
- Homebuyer education and counseling to achieve or maintain homeownership;
- Matching funds for federal or private foundation housing grants or loans; and
- Other activities or projects that address an urgent affordable housing need.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: NeighborWorks America
NHC Housing Leadership Support Program Partner NeighborWorks® America was named as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its Achieving Excellence in Community Development program (AE) – a high-impact, organizational transformation program designed to produce better leaders in the affordable housing and community development field.
This 18-month, performance-driven program is an organizational investment – providing the forum, the guidance, the push and the opportunities for leaders to move their organizations to a higher level of effectiveness and long-term, sustainable success.
During the program, each participant tackles a performance challenge that is most critical to the future of their organization and the communities they serve. With the participant’s organizational performance challenge as the focal point, participants attend three week-long sessions developed and delivered by Harvard Kennedy School faculty; receive 18 months of intensive executive coaching by a team of top-notch leadership consultants; and share learning and best practices in peer groups.
As a result, participants have created new lines of business, expanded their reach, re-engineered their organization’s business approach, created innovative strategies, built beneficial partnerships and leveraged new financial resources.
AE provides significant returns on investment, with independent evaluations showing nearly all participants and more than 90 percent of staff and board members reporting lasting, profoundly positive impacts on organizational coherence and innovation; outcomes focus; organizational capacity; and community results.
An evaluation of just one program cohort demonstrated:
This 18-month, performance-driven program is an organizational investment – providing the forum, the guidance, the push and the opportunities for leaders to move their organizations to a higher level of effectiveness and long-term, sustainable success.
During the program, each participant tackles a performance challenge that is most critical to the future of their organization and the communities they serve. With the participant’s organizational performance challenge as the focal point, participants attend three week-long sessions developed and delivered by Harvard Kennedy School faculty; receive 18 months of intensive executive coaching by a team of top-notch leadership consultants; and share learning and best practices in peer groups.
As a result, participants have created new lines of business, expanded their reach, re-engineered their organization’s business approach, created innovative strategies, built beneficial partnerships and leveraged new financial resources.
AE provides significant returns on investment, with independent evaluations showing nearly all participants and more than 90 percent of staff and board members reporting lasting, profoundly positive impacts on organizational coherence and innovation; outcomes focus; organizational capacity; and community results.
An evaluation of just one program cohort demonstrated:
- An increase in total clients (146 percent).
- An increase in affordable housing units developed/managed (32 percent/22 percent).
- An increase in the number of successful homeowners (15 percent).
- An increase in the average total assets (23 percent); average increase attributed to AE was $6,860,507/organization with $96,047,109 cumulatively.
Friday, January 15, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Metropolitan Planning Council
NHC Member Partner the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) was selected as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its Interjurisdictional Collaboratives Initiative, which creates systemic efficiencies in promoting equitable and sustainable housing opportunities in the Chicago metropolitan region.
The program was borne out of MPC’s partnership with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) – a forum of more than 270 mayors in metropolitan Chicago – with whom MPC has been partnering since 2001 on a regional Housing Action Agenda.
After establishing an extensive toolbox, and piloting these tools in a number of towns, all parties realized that each and every town could never attain the technical expertise and political capacity to develop and implement needed housing policies and programs. Furthermore, major housing challenges do not adhere to municipal borders. In 2007, MPC and MMC responded to this by pursuing an interjurisdictional collaboration by bringing partners together to build trust and create mechanisms for a cooperative effort.
The interjurisdictional initiative began with simultaneous Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) discussions with five towns in the North Shore and five others in the Northwest suburbs. These two interjurisdictional clusters, both in affluent parts of the region, were seeking to increase their housing options affordable to local workers and others shut out of the market.
In late 2008, MPC and MMC launched two additional interjurisdictional efforts in the South and West Suburbs, which both have been devastated by foreclosures. For these hard-hit suburbs, the goal was to connect housing to broader community and economic development plans, and build the necessary capacity for successful implementation.
Over the past year, the program has succeeded in accomplishing EAH-related goals in areas such as the North Shore. For example, Lake Forest donated land near its transit stop to be competitive for a 2009 Low Income Housing Tax Credit award that was subsequently approved.
And, in October 2008, leaders from the South and West clusters convened with the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to formalize their efforts to be competitive for NSP funding. Rather than competing for state and county NSP resources, towns in these two clusters formed well-functioning, interjurisdictional entities to submit joint proposals for NSP. Their coordinated efforts proved successful. On November 4, Cook County awarded the two clusters more than $12 million in NSP funding. Both are pursuing additional funding at this time to further fulfill their goals.
The program was borne out of MPC’s partnership with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) – a forum of more than 270 mayors in metropolitan Chicago – with whom MPC has been partnering since 2001 on a regional Housing Action Agenda.
After establishing an extensive toolbox, and piloting these tools in a number of towns, all parties realized that each and every town could never attain the technical expertise and political capacity to develop and implement needed housing policies and programs. Furthermore, major housing challenges do not adhere to municipal borders. In 2007, MPC and MMC responded to this by pursuing an interjurisdictional collaboration by bringing partners together to build trust and create mechanisms for a cooperative effort.
The interjurisdictional initiative began with simultaneous Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) discussions with five towns in the North Shore and five others in the Northwest suburbs. These two interjurisdictional clusters, both in affluent parts of the region, were seeking to increase their housing options affordable to local workers and others shut out of the market.
In late 2008, MPC and MMC launched two additional interjurisdictional efforts in the South and West Suburbs, which both have been devastated by foreclosures. For these hard-hit suburbs, the goal was to connect housing to broader community and economic development plans, and build the necessary capacity for successful implementation.
Over the past year, the program has succeeded in accomplishing EAH-related goals in areas such as the North Shore. For example, Lake Forest donated land near its transit stop to be competitive for a 2009 Low Income Housing Tax Credit award that was subsequently approved.
And, in October 2008, leaders from the South and West clusters convened with the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to formalize their efforts to be competitive for NSP funding. Rather than competing for state and county NSP resources, towns in these two clusters formed well-functioning, interjurisdictional entities to submit joint proposals for NSP. Their coordinated efforts proved successful. On November 4, Cook County awarded the two clusters more than $12 million in NSP funding. Both are pursuing additional funding at this time to further fulfill their goals.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Mercy Housing Idaho
NHC Member Partner Mercy Housing Idaho was named as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its Self-Help Single Family Homeownership program, which helps low- and moderate-income Idaho families achieve homeownership through its comprehensive approach.
Using sweat equity, each family commits 35 hours per week to build their home and the homes of their neighbors. Once completed, the homes are typically valued from $110,000 to $120,000, with the sweat equity investment equaling roughly $20,000 per house. Using rural development mortgage loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, families who live in these homes often see interest rates as low as 1 percent.
To make the program work, Mercy Housing staff provides construction supervision, financial literacy and home maintenance classes to all participating families. This model provides low- and moderate- income participants with the opportunity to increase their assets and help build a more solid future for their families. In turn, Idaho's rural communities also benefit from capital investments in creating new housing stock, new neighborhoods, and an increased tax base, as well as new jobs for local contractors and suppliers.
To date, more than 104 homes have been built through this initiative, without a single family experiencing foreclosure. Additionally, many of the homeowners go back to school to achieve their goals of higher education, increase their family size, volunteer in their communities as leaders, take on new jobs at a higher wage, and more. Mercy Housing Idaho continues to expand this program, helping families across the state achieve homeownership and accomplish their life goals.
Using sweat equity, each family commits 35 hours per week to build their home and the homes of their neighbors. Once completed, the homes are typically valued from $110,000 to $120,000, with the sweat equity investment equaling roughly $20,000 per house. Using rural development mortgage loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, families who live in these homes often see interest rates as low as 1 percent.
To make the program work, Mercy Housing staff provides construction supervision, financial literacy and home maintenance classes to all participating families. This model provides low- and moderate- income participants with the opportunity to increase their assets and help build a more solid future for their families. In turn, Idaho's rural communities also benefit from capital investments in creating new housing stock, new neighborhoods, and an increased tax base, as well as new jobs for local contractors and suppliers.
To date, more than 104 homes have been built through this initiative, without a single family experiencing foreclosure. Additionally, many of the homeowners go back to school to achieve their goals of higher education, increase their family size, volunteer in their communities as leaders, take on new jobs at a higher wage, and more. Mercy Housing Idaho continues to expand this program, helping families across the state achieve homeownership and accomplish their life goals.
Monday, January 11, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist: Mercy Housing Lakefront
According to a recent report from the Urban Land Institute, the supply of affordable rental housing in Chicago’s Cook County is expected to decrease by 78,000 units by 2020.
To help prevent the dramatic loss of affordable housing in the Chicago area, Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) is undertaking several affordable housing preservation projects that will ultimately leverage more than $200 million to preserve 1,800 units of housing with expiring government-assisted contracts and subsidies.
MHL was named as a NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award finalist for the first preservation project completed in this series, Malden Arms, which is an 83-unit supportive housing building serving formerly homeless, low-income, and disabled individuals.
Site improvements included the introduction of many green elements to make the building, originally constructed in the 1920s, more energy efficient. These upgrades were intended to not only reduce the building’s impact on the environment, but also to lower utility costs for residents.
While the project was under budget and ahead of schedule, MHL had to successfully overcome the unique challenge of creating a sustainable, long-term financing structure for Malden Arms.
To help solve the project’s financial dilemma, MHL secured a Long Term Operating Support subsidy from Chicago’s Low Income Housing Trust Fund for 52 of the 83 supportive housing units. The funding allowed MHL to increase rent revenues without impacting tenants’ out-of-pocket housing costs, decreasing a portion of the tenants’ rent in most cases and generating a positive net operating income to support the building’s long-term affordability.
Furthermore, MHL projected that half-way through the life of the building’s tax credits, operating expenses would again exceed projected increases in rents. To proactively overcome this challenge, MHL and its tax credit investor, the National Equity Fund, front-funded a “future losses reserve account” to bridge the financial gap when this time period occurs, ensuring the financial viability of the project through its 17th year.
In the coming years, MHL’s larger goal is to leverage more than $1 billion in affordable housing investment across the Chicago region by creating or preserving more than 5,000 affordable housing units. The strategies and lessons learned through the Malden Arms project will allow MHL to accomplish these goals and more.
To help prevent the dramatic loss of affordable housing in the Chicago area, Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) is undertaking several affordable housing preservation projects that will ultimately leverage more than $200 million to preserve 1,800 units of housing with expiring government-assisted contracts and subsidies.
MHL was named as a NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award finalist for the first preservation project completed in this series, Malden Arms, which is an 83-unit supportive housing building serving formerly homeless, low-income, and disabled individuals.
Site improvements included the introduction of many green elements to make the building, originally constructed in the 1920s, more energy efficient. These upgrades were intended to not only reduce the building’s impact on the environment, but also to lower utility costs for residents.
While the project was under budget and ahead of schedule, MHL had to successfully overcome the unique challenge of creating a sustainable, long-term financing structure for Malden Arms.
To help solve the project’s financial dilemma, MHL secured a Long Term Operating Support subsidy from Chicago’s Low Income Housing Trust Fund for 52 of the 83 supportive housing units. The funding allowed MHL to increase rent revenues without impacting tenants’ out-of-pocket housing costs, decreasing a portion of the tenants’ rent in most cases and generating a positive net operating income to support the building’s long-term affordability.
Furthermore, MHL projected that half-way through the life of the building’s tax credits, operating expenses would again exceed projected increases in rents. To proactively overcome this challenge, MHL and its tax credit investor, the National Equity Fund, front-funded a “future losses reserve account” to bridge the financial gap when this time period occurs, ensuring the financial viability of the project through its 17th year.
In the coming years, MHL’s larger goal is to leverage more than $1 billion in affordable housing investment across the Chicago region by creating or preserving more than 5,000 affordable housing units. The strategies and lessons learned through the Malden Arms project will allow MHL to accomplish these goals and more.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development
When it comes to developing a tailored, comprehensive affordable housing strategy, collaborative partnerships play a key role in helping communities overcome obstacles related to their specific needs.
In concert with this, NHC Member Partner the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) was named as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its partnership efforts with four other entities – both public and private – to create to the Partnership for Permanent Housing (PPH) program in Fairfax County, VA, which was developed to assist homeless families achieve self-sufficiency.
Launched in 2006, PPH teaches valuable life lessons that help participants break the cycle of poverty by creating a solid foundation of life skills, which is also intended to help improve the chance of upward mobility for their children.
PPH measures self-sufficiency in four different areas, including: economic self-sufficiency; stable, permanent housing provided first through rental subsidy and ultimately through homeownership; improved life functioning; and improved well-being of children as measured through educational achievement.
Since its inception, the program has seen measurable results, especially when it comes to education. For example, five clients are participating in GED preparation classes, eight clients are attending college level courses and three clients are participating in vocational training. Additionally, average participant credit scores have increased by 20 points, and 100 percent of the families in the program are on track to complete PPH-related training.
This “full-scope” approach is to be commended for helping to provide stability for area families by also concentrating on a range of complex issues related to cyclical poverty and homelessness.
In concert with this, NHC Member Partner the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) was named as a 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its partnership efforts with four other entities – both public and private – to create to the Partnership for Permanent Housing (PPH) program in Fairfax County, VA, which was developed to assist homeless families achieve self-sufficiency.
Launched in 2006, PPH teaches valuable life lessons that help participants break the cycle of poverty by creating a solid foundation of life skills, which is also intended to help improve the chance of upward mobility for their children.
PPH measures self-sufficiency in four different areas, including: economic self-sufficiency; stable, permanent housing provided first through rental subsidy and ultimately through homeownership; improved life functioning; and improved well-being of children as measured through educational achievement.
Since its inception, the program has seen measurable results, especially when it comes to education. For example, five clients are participating in GED preparation classes, eight clients are attending college level courses and three clients are participating in vocational training. Additionally, average participant credit scores have increased by 20 points, and 100 percent of the families in the program are on track to complete PPH-related training.
This “full-scope” approach is to be commended for helping to provide stability for area families by also concentrating on a range of complex issues related to cyclical poverty and homelessness.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Enterprise Rose Fellowship: Transforming the Way We Think About, Design, Locate and Build Affordable Homes for Low-Income Families
NHC member partner Enterprise Community Partners was a 2009 “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for their highly competitive Enterprise Rose Fellowship in Community Architecture – the only national program that develops the next generation of architects focused on uniting a community-based approach to development with best practices in affordable housing design.
According to Enterprise, many affordable housing developers have historically accepted the premise that design excellence must be compromised by budget constraints. The Rose Fellowship is living proof that the long-term financial and social viability of affordable housing, in fact, depends on design excellence, sustainability and community engagement in the development of their neighborhoods. To make these practices universal, the fellowship seeks to nurture a movement of designers committed to working with communities to design and develop high-quality, green affordable housing. It achieves this by making a valuable grant – for the purpose of employing a highly skilled emerging architect – to a community development corporation (CDC) for a period of three years. The CDC benefits from having the creativity, imagination and training of an architect on staff. The architect benefits from deep involvement in the neighborhood where his or her affordable housing projects move forward. The program is so successful, that by the end of the three-year commitments, many of the host organizations take the leap to create a position for their architect-fellow to remain a permanent member of their staff. Even those fellows who do not stay on with their hosts though, remain in the field of community-based architectural design.
The Fellowship has offered 31 of the nation’s finest early-career architects a chance to receive three years of rigorous training and experience in sustainable community design work. The Rose Fellowship is an important part of Enterprise’s Green Communities initiative. The initiative transforms the way we think about, design, locate and build affordable homes for low-income families.
Since the fellowship’s launch in 2000, Enterprise Rose Fellows have helped to design and develop over 4,400 affordable homes and apartments valued at nearly $1 billion and 43 community facilities valued at over $42 million, including neighborhood and child care centers, community gardens, health clinics and mixed-use space for nonprofits and small businesses. Rose Fellows have also led nine major community planning efforts and have been leaders in greening affordable housing. The breadth of the fellows’ work ranges from a straw-bale housing development in Montana to a center for troubled teens that won the Virginia Governor’s Award for Best Housing Project.
Last year, after conducting an independent evaluation, the Rensselaerville Institute reported: “Fellows are publishing, teaching, and choosing to stay on as architects and leaders in the community development field—all of this representing measurable progress in realizing the program’s primary goal of creating a new generation of community architects in the United States.”
Fifteen of 20 former Fellows have gone on to positions of leadership in the fields of community design, sustainable design, and community development—including the director of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, the director of the Austin Community Design Center, and a professor of architecture at Penn State University. And their work has received broader public recognition—through over 350 media stories—which we believe is crucial to winning broader public support for quality design in affordable housing development.
After completion of the three-year fellowships, nearly 90 percent of host CDCs report that the fellowship led them to adopt new policies and standard practices to incorporate community input and sustainable design principles. Finally, 85 percent of the host organizations have chosen to employ either the Fellow or an additional architectural designer full-time.
According to Enterprise, many affordable housing developers have historically accepted the premise that design excellence must be compromised by budget constraints. The Rose Fellowship is living proof that the long-term financial and social viability of affordable housing, in fact, depends on design excellence, sustainability and community engagement in the development of their neighborhoods. To make these practices universal, the fellowship seeks to nurture a movement of designers committed to working with communities to design and develop high-quality, green affordable housing. It achieves this by making a valuable grant – for the purpose of employing a highly skilled emerging architect – to a community development corporation (CDC) for a period of three years. The CDC benefits from having the creativity, imagination and training of an architect on staff. The architect benefits from deep involvement in the neighborhood where his or her affordable housing projects move forward. The program is so successful, that by the end of the three-year commitments, many of the host organizations take the leap to create a position for their architect-fellow to remain a permanent member of their staff. Even those fellows who do not stay on with their hosts though, remain in the field of community-based architectural design.
The Fellowship has offered 31 of the nation’s finest early-career architects a chance to receive three years of rigorous training and experience in sustainable community design work. The Rose Fellowship is an important part of Enterprise’s Green Communities initiative. The initiative transforms the way we think about, design, locate and build affordable homes for low-income families.
Since the fellowship’s launch in 2000, Enterprise Rose Fellows have helped to design and develop over 4,400 affordable homes and apartments valued at nearly $1 billion and 43 community facilities valued at over $42 million, including neighborhood and child care centers, community gardens, health clinics and mixed-use space for nonprofits and small businesses. Rose Fellows have also led nine major community planning efforts and have been leaders in greening affordable housing. The breadth of the fellows’ work ranges from a straw-bale housing development in Montana to a center for troubled teens that won the Virginia Governor’s Award for Best Housing Project.
Last year, after conducting an independent evaluation, the Rensselaerville Institute reported: “Fellows are publishing, teaching, and choosing to stay on as architects and leaders in the community development field—all of this representing measurable progress in realizing the program’s primary goal of creating a new generation of community architects in the United States.”
Fifteen of 20 former Fellows have gone on to positions of leadership in the fields of community design, sustainable design, and community development—including the director of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, the director of the Austin Community Design Center, and a professor of architecture at Penn State University. And their work has received broader public recognition—through over 350 media stories—which we believe is crucial to winning broader public support for quality design in affordable housing development.
After completion of the three-year fellowships, nearly 90 percent of host CDCs report that the fellowship led them to adopt new policies and standard practices to incorporate community input and sustainable design principles. Finally, 85 percent of the host organizations have chosen to employ either the Fellow or an additional architectural designer full-time.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist Bank of America
NHC Member Partner Bank of America was a 2009 “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its End to End Taxable (E2E) Term Loan product. E2E is the result of a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Impact Community Capital, LLC (Impact), an organization formed by top insurance companies seeking to promote socially responsible investments in underserved communities.
Created to broaden the secondary market for financing affordable multifamily housing with the goal of helping to lower the cost of debt, E2E is designed for projects targeting low- to moderate-income renters with incomes primarily at, or below, 60 percent of the area median income.
Specifically, the partnership enables Bank of America to combine construction loans with permanent loans – providing a single-commitment, single-closing approach to financing affordable multifamily housing or mixed-use real estate. Following construction completion and loan conversion, Impact purchases the permanent loan and then pools loans that can be rated by a major rating agency, creating mortgage-backed securities that meet the investment needs of large institutional investors, particularly insurance companies.
To date, Bank of America has closed and sold over $246 million in E2E Term Loans to Impact’s investment vehicle. The bank’s construction financing associated with E2E Term Loans have reached more than $460 million since the product’s first roll out. These financing commitments have produced more than 12,600 affordable units in 144 housing developments across the U.S. that are either under construction or occupied by low income renters.
It is important to note that the E2E product is part of Bank of America's $1.5 trillion, ten-year community development lending and investment goal that was initiated in January 2009.
Created to broaden the secondary market for financing affordable multifamily housing with the goal of helping to lower the cost of debt, E2E is designed for projects targeting low- to moderate-income renters with incomes primarily at, or below, 60 percent of the area median income.
Specifically, the partnership enables Bank of America to combine construction loans with permanent loans – providing a single-commitment, single-closing approach to financing affordable multifamily housing or mixed-use real estate. Following construction completion and loan conversion, Impact purchases the permanent loan and then pools loans that can be rated by a major rating agency, creating mortgage-backed securities that meet the investment needs of large institutional investors, particularly insurance companies.
To date, Bank of America has closed and sold over $246 million in E2E Term Loans to Impact’s investment vehicle. The bank’s construction financing associated with E2E Term Loans have reached more than $460 million since the product’s first roll out. These financing commitments have produced more than 12,600 affordable units in 144 housing developments across the U.S. that are either under construction or occupied by low income renters.
It is important to note that the E2E product is part of Bank of America's $1.5 trillion, ten-year community development lending and investment goal that was initiated in January 2009.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award Finalist the Atlanta Housing Authority
The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) was an NHC 2009 “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award finalist for its outstanding work in public housing in Atlanta, which has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past fourteen years. And, along with it, so have many once-broken urban neighborhoods and the often marginalized families living in them. Changes of such significance were possible only through a radical rethinking of how to improve housing and housing options for families living below the poverty line—a rethinking enabled in great part by HOPE VI. Specifically, AHA was determined to use HOPE VI to reverse the cycle of low expectations and poor outcomes.
Today, AHA is assisting 19,500 households (approximately 6,000 more than in 1994) in a much broader array of healthier, safer, and opportunity-enhancing housing, from private apartments rented with Section 8 vouchers to nine new mixed-use, mixed-income communities; five mixed-income communities; and more than thirty-five project-based rental assistance mixed-income arrangements with private owners. AHA is also implementing plans under its Moving to Work agreement to relocate affected households by using Section 8 vouchers and to close and demolish by the end of 2010 its remaining distressed and obsolete family public housing projects and two projects for senior citizens and disabled individuals.
As a result, tens of thousands of Atlantans are living in now-thriving neighborhoods that were once urban “war zones” with crumbling infrastructure, high crime rates, failing schools, and declining property values. As those housing projects have been razed and redeveloped as market-quality, mixed-use, mixed-income communities, Atlanta has flourished. Affluent and middle-class residents are moving in, and the city’s population recently topped 500,000. Crime decreased by at least 44 percent over the last decade, and billions of private dollars have been invested in the city.
Today, AHA is assisting 19,500 households (approximately 6,000 more than in 1994) in a much broader array of healthier, safer, and opportunity-enhancing housing, from private apartments rented with Section 8 vouchers to nine new mixed-use, mixed-income communities; five mixed-income communities; and more than thirty-five project-based rental assistance mixed-income arrangements with private owners. AHA is also implementing plans under its Moving to Work agreement to relocate affected households by using Section 8 vouchers and to close and demolish by the end of 2010 its remaining distressed and obsolete family public housing projects and two projects for senior citizens and disabled individuals.
As a result, tens of thousands of Atlantans are living in now-thriving neighborhoods that were once urban “war zones” with crumbling infrastructure, high crime rates, failing schools, and declining property values. As those housing projects have been razed and redeveloped as market-quality, mixed-use, mixed-income communities, Atlanta has flourished. Affluent and middle-class residents are moving in, and the city’s population recently topped 500,000. Crime decreased by at least 44 percent over the last decade, and billions of private dollars have been invested in the city.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Builders of Hope Honored With NHC 2009 "Pioneering Housing Strategies" Award - Innovative Organization Chosen for "Building Green Communities" Model
Today NHC announced that Builders of Hope, Inc. (BOH) was selected to receive the 2009 NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award for its work in helping to close an expanding gap between the availability and the need for safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly urban housing solutions in the Raleigh, NC area. Specifically, BOH was selected for its uniquely comprehensive Building Green Communities model, which includes its Extreme Green Rehabilitation process and related Work Mentor program. Watch this video to learn more about BOH and its mission.
Through its rehabilitation process, BOH recycles homes slated for demolition using green building standards and then sells them at cost to working families. The organization’s work program provides "green collar" and basic workplace competency job training to chronically unemployed populations, such as the homeless, ex-offenders and at-risk youth, in a full life-mentoring program – helping to contribute to the long-term revitalization and economic sustainability of each community in which BOH works.
Among the organization’s greatest achievements are its contributions to the environment. In 2008 alone, BOH saved more than two million pounds of construction debris from entering landfills. In addition, homes produced using the Extreme Green Rehabilitation model have passed both the North Carolina Healthy Built Homes and Advanced Energy’s SystemVision guarantee process. Ultimately, this means that these energy-efficient homes will be more affordable to owners over the long run with the money they will save on utilities. Additionally, in 2009, BOH was honored as a leader in sustainable development, receiving the City of Raleigh’s Environmental Stewardship Award.
Award Finalists
NHC would like to sincerely thank this year's award finalists, including the Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Bank of America, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development, Mercy Housing Chicago, Mercy Housing Idaho, Metropolitan Planning Council, NeighborWorks® America, Ohio Finance Housing Agency, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., San Diego Housing Commission, and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future.
Beginning this week, NHC will be highlighting project and program submissions from each of the award finalists on “Open House” with its new blog topic entitled, “Pioneering Housing Strategies: NHC Members Making a Difference in Local Communities.”
About the Award
Established this year, the NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award was developed to replace the NHC "Excellence in Housing Communications" Award in order to recognize a broader range of creative activities. The honor acknowledges pioneering, forward-thinking strategies that are changing the way we approach affordable housing and community development initiatives.
The recipient of last year’s NHC "Excellence in Housing Communications" Award was BRIDGE Housing Corporation for its interactive "virtual municipality" BRIDGEtown, which showcases the organization’s mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhoods, providing a valuable framework for developers looking to create similar models in their own communities.
Through its rehabilitation process, BOH recycles homes slated for demolition using green building standards and then sells them at cost to working families. The organization’s work program provides "green collar" and basic workplace competency job training to chronically unemployed populations, such as the homeless, ex-offenders and at-risk youth, in a full life-mentoring program – helping to contribute to the long-term revitalization and economic sustainability of each community in which BOH works.
Among the organization’s greatest achievements are its contributions to the environment. In 2008 alone, BOH saved more than two million pounds of construction debris from entering landfills. In addition, homes produced using the Extreme Green Rehabilitation model have passed both the North Carolina Healthy Built Homes and Advanced Energy’s SystemVision guarantee process. Ultimately, this means that these energy-efficient homes will be more affordable to owners over the long run with the money they will save on utilities. Additionally, in 2009, BOH was honored as a leader in sustainable development, receiving the City of Raleigh’s Environmental Stewardship Award.
Award Finalists
NHC would like to sincerely thank this year's award finalists, including the Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Bank of America, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development, Mercy Housing Chicago, Mercy Housing Idaho, Metropolitan Planning Council, NeighborWorks® America, Ohio Finance Housing Agency, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., San Diego Housing Commission, and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future.
Beginning this week, NHC will be highlighting project and program submissions from each of the award finalists on “Open House” with its new blog topic entitled, “Pioneering Housing Strategies: NHC Members Making a Difference in Local Communities.”
About the Award
Established this year, the NHC “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award was developed to replace the NHC "Excellence in Housing Communications" Award in order to recognize a broader range of creative activities. The honor acknowledges pioneering, forward-thinking strategies that are changing the way we approach affordable housing and community development initiatives.
The recipient of last year’s NHC "Excellence in Housing Communications" Award was BRIDGE Housing Corporation for its interactive "virtual municipality" BRIDGEtown, which showcases the organization’s mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhoods, providing a valuable framework for developers looking to create similar models in their own communities.
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