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David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
April 9, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) April 9, 2021 – The Biden Administration’s recently announced infrastructure proposal, The American Jobs Plan, includes a $40 billion commitment to recapitalize public housing infrastructure. Applying data from a report by Econsult Solutions (ESI), a private data analytics firm, CLPHA estimates that 440,000 jobs will be created and $76 billion in economic impact generated during the time when the $40 billion in funds are spent.
“Investing in public housing infrastructure offers many economic benefits beyond lifting families out of poverty and preventing homelessness,” said Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA). “The American Jobs Plan is the first to provide the size and scale of resources necessary to repair the crumbling infrastructure of public housing. In return local employers, governments, and industries will benefit from an economic activity that outpaces investment and creation of good-paying construction jobs.”
CLPHA commissioned ESI to evaluate the economic impacts of six public housing authorities (PHAs) in diverse markets across the country. Released in late 2018, “The Economic Impact of Public Housing: Ongoing Investment with Wide-Reaching Returns” found that PHAs generate and induce multiple streams of economic activity benefiting public housing residents and their local communities. For every $1 million PHAs spend on capital investments, $1.89 million in economic activity is generated and 11 full-time jobs are supported. CLPHA applied the American Jobs Plan’s $40 billion for recapitalizing public housing infrastructure with ESI’s economic impact numbers and found the American Jobs Plan will generate $76 billion in economic activity and 440,00 jobs — a nearly 2 to 1 ratio for economic impact generated to dollars spent.
“After decades of chronic underfunding and disinvestment in public housing infrastructure, the American Jobs Plan can be game changing. Local communities have an opportunity to experience the benefits of a robust public and affordable housing system,” said Zaterman. “Whether it is improving life outcomes for low-income families, creating positive impacts in surrounding neighborhoods of well-maintained public housing, expanding local and state tax bases, or spurring regional job creation and economic growth, public housing is a benefit. It is clear from the American Jobs Plan that the Biden Administration is committed to advancing public housing.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
Grants will help PHA residents with immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19
Washington, D.C. (February 9, 2021) -- The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) is pleased to announce the ten recipients of its COVID Resident Support Grants. The recipients are CLPHA member public housing authorities (PHAs) from across the country that will utilize their grants to meet immediate and locally defined needs exacerbated by COVID-19 for projects such as providing residents with essential household supplies, helping households successfully lease affordable units with their housing vouchers, and supplying technology and devices that will help resident children attend virtual school or connect resident seniors with healthcare resources. The recipients were chosen via a competitive selection process, and the robust response to CLPHA’s call for applications demonstrates the need for additional funds to support COVID-19 relief services and supplies for low-income Americans.
“As housing providers for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children, families, and seniors, our members are uniquely positioned to serve the low-income residents in their communities that are hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “We are pleased to provide these ten grants that will support PHAs in their efforts to not only keep residents stably housed, but also to provide crucial supplies and resources that will help residents cope with the new normal created by the pandemic."
The grantees are:
- INLIVIAN (Charlotte, NC)
- Elm City Communities (New Haven, CT)
- Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro (Goldsboro, NC)
- Jersey City Housing Authority (Jersey City, NJ)
- Lucas Metropolitan Housing (Toledo, OH)
- Oklahoma City Housing Authority (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Home Forward (Portland, OR)
- Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (Ventura, CA)
- Tacoma Housing Authority (Tacoma, WA)
- Wilmington Housing Authority (Wilmington, NC)
Learn more about CLPHA’s grantees and how they will use these funds to help meet the public health, education, employment, and basic urgent needs of their residents profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic here.
These ten sub-grants are made possible through CLPHA’s grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP) COVID-19 Response Fund.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA .
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.
About The Center for Disaster Philanthropy
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s mission is to leverage the power of philanthropy to mobilize a full range of resources that strengthen the ability of communities to withstand disasters and recover equitably when they occur. CDP manages domestic and international Disaster Funds on behalf of corporations, foundations and individuals through targeted, holistic and localized grantmaking. For more information, visit: disasterphilanthropy.org, call (202) 464-2018 or tweet us @funds4disaster.
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
(Washington, D.C.) March 31, 2022 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement on the Biden administration’s FY23 budget request:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the Biden administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget request with its 9.4-percent increase in HUD discretionary funding over 2022 enacted levels. The Biden administration has consistently demonstrated a commitment to expanding housing opportunities for low-income Americans. The FY23 budget request reflects this commitment.
“CLPHA is pleased that the FY23 budget increases funding across many programs that CLPHA members operate. Among CLPHA’s top legislative priorities is a significant expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher program. The multi-billion dollar increase in the funding request for the HCV program, which represents an expansion of 200,000 households, is an important step forward to fulfilling this key priority.
“The expansion of the HCV program coupled with increased administrative fee funding, more Tenant Protection Vouchers, additional LITHCs, new RAD conversion subsidies, and targeted climate and health investments can have a major impact on preserving public housing, expanding rental assistance and developing new affordable housing.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
(Washington, D.C.) March 9, 2022 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement about the HUD budget in fiscal year 2022 spending omnibus package:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the $4 billion increase in funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over last year in the fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill released last night. The increase amounts to $53.7 billion for HUD in this omnibus bill. "Subcommittee Chairman David Price and the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee recognized the critical role that public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers play with several funding increases. First, an expansion of up to 25,000 new incremental vouchers for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including survivors of domestic violence and veterans as part of the $200 million increase in the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program. Second, the Project-Based Rental Assistance budget increase of $475 million over the FY 2021 budget will continue to safely house 1.2 million very low- and low-income households.
“For public housing a $645.5 million increase over FY 2021, including $3.2 billion to meet the full annual capital accrual need in order to improve the quality and safety of public housing for more than 2 million residents. Finally, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative received an increase of $150 million above FY 2021, which represents a 75 percent increase. While America’s housing crisis continues, these funding increases recognize that public and affordable housing programs are the most effective way to keep low-income families housed.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
(Washington, D.C.) February 25, 2022 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement about President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court: “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds President Biden’s historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court after more than two centuries of the Court’s existence, and she will bring near gender parity with four women serving on the Court. Judge Jackson will bring experience as a public defender to the Court for the first time since Justice Thurgood Marshall retired in 1991. “President Biden campaigned on the promise to be intentional with his first Supreme Court pick. Intentionality is at the heart of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion movement to bring greater racial equity to our nation’s workplaces. President’s Biden choice of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the nation’s highest court represents an important step forward for racial justice in our country.” |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
CLPHA Members Elm City Communities, Miami-Dade Public Housing & Community Development Also Featured
Affordable Housing News magazine featured Executive Director Sunia Zaterman in its Fall 2019 issue, where Zaterman discussed CLPHA’s priorities, goals, and strategies for preserving and improving public and affordable housing. “We are very focused on appropriations and polices that support public housing authorities and the people they serve,” said Zaterman, adding that “[f]rom the beginning, we’ve been very focused on supporting the most innovative housing authorities in the country.” She cited programs like the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and Moving to Work (MTW) as flexible, locally-oriented policies that innovative housing authorities are using to improve their housing stock and resident outcomes. Zaterman also emphasized the public housing portfolio’s capital needs backlog of more than $50 billion and the chronic underfunding of public housing programs, issues that are at the center of CLPHA’s advocacy efforts.
The article also highlights CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative, which seeks to broaden and deepen efforts to align housing, education, and health organizations to produce positive long-term outcomes for low-income individuals and families. Zaterman discussed some of the Housing Is Initiative’s work, including the Housing Is Summit, an annual convening dedicated to collaboration among the housing, education, and health sectors, and the creation of a data sharing agreement template for housing authorities and school systems so that they can identify shared issues and interests and develop evidence-based interventions. “We understand that housing is absolutely essential and foundational, but often, for families and special needs populations, is not sufficient in and of itself,” Zaterman said. “Our goal with the Housing Is Initiative is to improve and enhance our partnerships in healthcare, education, and workforce development to improve life outcomes for families, seniors, and persons with disabilities who reside in assisted housing.”
Read Affordable Housing News' article (on pages 20 and 21).
CLPHA members Miami-Dade Public Housing & Community Development (Miami-Dade PCHD) and Elm City Communities (ECC) were also featured in Affordable Housing News’ Fall 2019 issue. Read about Miami-Dade PCHD’s RAD-assisted Liberty Square redevelopment on pages 34-36 and about ECC’s employment of MTW flexibilities to create innovative resident programming and redevelop its public housing portfolio on pages 64-65.
In an interview with radio program Marketplace for its November 4 story "Apple pledges $2.5 billion to ease California’s housing crisis," CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman told reporter Jack Stewart that Apple's recent $2.5 billion Bay Area affordable housing pledge is an important starting point in addressing the nation's affordable housing shortage, but also noted that much more money is needed to help public housing authorities provide affordable housing for low-income individuals and families. Zaterman told Stewart that public housing needs an injection of $50 to 70 billion to address its massive capital needs backlog.
“The giving back here [by Apple] should be seen as necessary and required,” said Zaterman, “because these corporations are benefiting from the workforce, from the transportation systems, health systems, that are already in their communities.”
Read or listen to Marketplace's story.
In a new op-ed for The Hill, a prominent political newspaper widely read by policymakers, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman underscores the role of public housing authorities (PHAs) as essential partners in local efforts to house those who are particularly vulnerable to housing insecurity, including unsheltered families, veterans, people with disabilities, youth aging out of foster care, victims of domestic violence, and returning citizens. Programs like the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s Stable Homes Stable Schools and the Oakland Housing Authority’s Building Bridges are examples of how PHAs are leveraging their limited resources and local partnerships to create more opportunities for housing stability.
Yet, the President’s proposed FY2020 HUD budget would reduce the agency’s funding by more than 16 percent and slash the public housing operating and capital funds by $4.6 billion, which would seriously impede PHAs’ and their communities’ abilities to address the housing needs of low-income and housing-insecure people.
Though House and Senate appropriators propose modest funding increases in their FY20 spending bills, Zaterman argues that level funding is not enough to meet the growing and urgent demand for housing that is safe and affordable. “We can address the crisis of homelessness in America, and public housing authorities are prepared to help solve it with appropriate resources.”
Part two of Affordable Housing Finance’s special report “Turning Point for Public Housing,” explores tools such as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) that public housing authorities can use to recapitalize and redevelop properties for their residents and communities. In the face of unsustainable federal funding levels, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman tells the magazine that public housing is at a crossroads, but with the right tools, “we could have the portfolio totally recapitalized in 10 years.”
Zaterman was also featured in part one of the series to discuss the impact of the federal disinvestment in public housing. “We have lost about 10,000 units a year from underfunding,” she said. But, “the number of public housing units lost may have slowed to about 8,000 a year, thanks to RAD, in the last couple of years.”
Read the series, which includes interviews with housing advocates, policy experts, and policymakers, online here.
On May 21, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, testified before the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing entitled “Housing in America: Oversight of the U.S. Department of Housing and Development” where he received pointed questions from the committee Democrats on recent HUD proposals such as rent reform, the non-citizen rule, and HUD’s FY20 budget request which would slash funding for public housing.
After the hearing, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman was asked by USA TODAY reporter Nicholas Wu about the accuracy of Carson’s justification of the non-citizen rule – that, based on Section 214, the Secretary may not support housing for people who are not here legally. Zaterman told Wu that the law “explicitly authorizes both those with eligible and ineligible immigration status to occupy units in ‘covered housing programs.’”
“This is a punitive act,” she said. “Even HUD’s justification laid out the negative impacts of doing this on the households themselves which often include children that are eligible and parents and heads of household who are not.” Read the USA TODAY article.
From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's press release:
Last week, the Minneapolis City Council approved the city’s 2025 budget, setting a new funding highwater mark for MPHA programs and activities at nearly $11 million. Included in this funding is the continuation of the $5 million annual housing tax levy, a $1.3 million investment to support MPHA piloting a new U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding program, $2.2 million in continued ongoing funding to support the nationally recognized Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) program, a one-time investment of $830,500 to pilot a SHSS expansion into early childhood and middle school homelessness prevention, and $1.8 million (with $1.4 million ongoing in subsequent years) for the creation of a new city-funded Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program to mirror the successful but sunsetting federal program.
“We are honored by the trust Mayor Frey and the City Council have placed in MPHA as a partner in the work to address our city’s homelessness and affordable housing challenges,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “This agency administers numerous successful housing assistance programs. Chief among these is Stable Homes Stable Schools and the Emergency Housing Voucher program. I am heartened that our elected leaders understand the importance of these successful programs and are increasing the city’s support. This agency plays a critical role in addressing our region’s affordable housing challenges, and I hope other local and state leaders take note of what is possible when investing in MPHA’s award-winning work.”
Earlier this summer, MPHA leaders presented an update on the agency’s 2024 levy budget and a look at the agency’s five-year levy capital plan. Highlights from the agency’s 2024 levy budget included dedicating a portion of funding towards the agency’s next major high-rise renovation (Spring Manor), two scattered site infill projects (one duplex and one triplex), and modernizing elevator systems in two high-rises. The 2025 levy budget includes dedicating additional funds to the Spring Manor redevelopment project and replacing high-rise windows from the 1980s with energy efficient, code compliant windows that include fall protection safety features across the portfolio.
The City of Minneapolis’ 2025 budget includes an amendment led by Councilmembers Jason Chavez and Aurin Chowdhury, along with Council President Elliot Payne, to fund two SHSS pilot expansion projects in two core areas of need and opportunity: early childhood homelessness prevention and expanding the program into Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) middle schools.
The early childhood prevention expansion will help reach families with infant to pre-school-aged children who are unstably housed to prevent any initial homelessness episodes. By preventing homelessness of 0 – 5-year-olds, SHSS can prevent the deficits that children impacted by homelessness bring into their primary school journeys. Services include financial assistance and case management.
And the middle school expansion is the natural next step for SHSS expansion. It will expand the reach of SHSS housing stability services to additional MPS schools, extending the stabilizing benefits SHSS delivers to additional children, families, and schools. Services include financial assistance and case management.
Full details for both pilot expansion programs can be found in this fact sheet, but MPHA estimates that an additional 180-225 families (representing 440-565 children) could be served by Stable Homes Stable Schools with these two expansions.
The other budget amendment, led by Councilmembers Robin Wonsley and Jamal Osman, creates a new city-funded EHV program that mirrors MPHA’s successful EHV program.
Created and funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), the EHV program connects federal rental assistance with local Continuums of Care (CoCs) and other partners to target resources to individuals and families who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness, were recently homeless, or have a high risk of housing instability.
In developing its EHV program, MPHA partnered with the Hennepin County CoC to identify chronically homeless individuals, and to establish a process of engagement with those individuals referred for the vouchers. The agency works with Hennepin County’s Coordinated Entry System to administer the EHV program, equipping individuals and families coming out of homelessness with wrap-around case management services provided by the county and county-contracted providers.
But while MPHA has developed a successful EHV program that has delivered millions in emergency rental assistance and helped 246 individuals escape homelessness, the EHV program’s funding is set to expire in September 2030. Unlike other HUD voucher programs that receive annual congressional appropriations, EHVs only received one-time funding through ARPA.
Councilmember Wonsley and Osman’s amendment will help the agency permanently fund 100 EHVs, modeled off the agency’s successful federally funded program. Full details on the federal EHV program and the agency’s proposal for a city-funded EHV program can be found in this fact sheet.
For both the SHSS expansions and the city-funded EHV program, MPHA will spend the coming months staffing up and creating the necessary administrative and compliance software systems. In the case of the city-funded EHV program, MPHA cannot simply continue to use federal documents, administration, and compliance systems. Therefore, the agency needs to build the unique systems and processes that mirror the federal program – a process the agency anticipates will run through summer of 2025 before the first city-funded EHVs are deployed. The agency will provide periodic updates on these two programs and the rest of the activities and programs funded in the City of Minneapolis’ budget throughout 2025.
From the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority's press release:
The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) announced today it has invested a combined total of $78.9 million to purchase The Residences at Eden Park in northeast Columbus and The Orchards in Lockbourne.
These acquisitions add 426 units to CMHA’s portfolio, with rents tailored to address the region’s critical need for workforce housing. To further enhance affordability, each property can also house families using the CMHA Housing Choice Voucher program.
Workforce housing is defined as housing affordable to households with income between 60% and 120% of the area median income (AMI), targeting middle-income essential workers such as police, firefighters, educators and health care, retail and restaurant/lodging workers. AMI data is calculated annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
All 264 apartments at Eden Park, located at 2335 N. Cassady Ave. near Easton, and the 162 units at The Orchards, situated at 310 Rathmell Road near Rickenbacker International Airport and adjacent to the new Google facility under construction, will be affordable to renters at 80% of the Columbus AMI. This translates to affordability for a one-person household earning $55,600 annually or a two-person household earning $63,520. Monthly rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom units will range from $1,100 to $1,900.
“We can all agree that if you work in Central Ohio, you should be able to live in Central Ohio,” said CMHA President and CEO Charles Hillman.
“The tremendous economic boom in our region is producing both exciting opportunities and challenges, including a critical shortage of workers and affordable housing,” Hillman added. “By acquiring these two properties, we aim to alleviate the housing burden faced by working families while building a brighter, more prosperous future for residents across Franklin County.”
CMHA purchased Eden Park for $47.4 million and The Orchards for $31.5 million from Metro Development, one of Central Ohio’s leading multifamily developers. Both locations were constructed by Metro Development in 2023.
The acquisitions were financed through $79 million in bonds, contributing to CMHA’s total bond issuance of over $260 million for the development, preservation and acquisition of housing for all. This effort aligns with CMHA’s strategic goal to expand the region’s housing stock and combat Central Ohio’s ongoing housing shortage, bolstered by its A+ credit rating from S&P Global.
“Our prestigious A+ rating positions CMHA to leverage bond markets with reduced financing costs, enabling a sustainable growth model aligned with our strategic vision of delivering at least 500 new housing units annually for the foreseeable future,” said CMHA Chief Operating Officer Scott Scharlach.
Amenities at both properties include a 4,500-square-foot clubhouse, resident lounge, 24-hour access to emergency services, a professional cardio center, gaming area, tranquil pool, business center, coffee bar and outdoor activity areas, including a dog park. Apartments feature contemporary designs, oversize walk-in closets, 9-foot ceilings and private patios or balconies.
The acquisitions come amid a well-documented shortage of affordable housing in central Ohio.
According to the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, only 29 affordable units exist for every 100 extremely low-income households. Approximately 54,000 Franklin County families spend over half their income on housing. Nationally, rents have risen 14% since 2021, with Columbus following similar trends. Currently, 40% of renters in the region are considered rent-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
Today’s announcement marks a record-setting year for CMHA, with more than $275 million in annual real estate investments to promote affordable housing opportunities. CMHA’s housing portfolio, now valued at nearly $1 billion, consists of over 2,257 subsidized units, 1,700 workforce housing units and 1,700 market-rate units.
From the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority's press release:
Lincoln Avenue Communities (LAC), a mission-driven acquirer and developer of affordable housing, broke ground yesterday on the Residences at Government Center II during a ceremony with LAC leaders, local lawmakers and partners, including Virginia Housing, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).
The Residences at Government Center II will provide 279 high-quality, affordable homes for families in the Braddock District. Upon completion, this community will also feature a daycare center, providing a safe and convenient childcare option for residents.
U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, who represents Virginia’s 11th District in Congress, spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony. Other speakers included Nick Bracco, Vice President, Lincoln Avenue Communities; Lenore Stanton, Chair, Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority; Jeffrey C. McKay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; James Walkinshaw, Braddock District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; and Kerrie Wilson, CEO, Cornerstones.
“Throughout my career, creating and preserving affordable housing has been a key priority. As a Congressman and the former Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, I am thrilled to be a part of this innovative use of land to further the creation of affordable housing in our community,” said Rep. Connolly.
“Lincoln Avenue Communities is proud to begin construction on the Residences at Government Center II,” said Nick Bracco, Vice President, Lincoln Avenue Communities. “Once completed, this property will offer nearly 300 safe, affordable homes with top-tier amenities to families and individuals in Fairfax County, where new affordable housing is strongly needed.”
“We are proud to welcome new affordable housing right here in our front yard at the Fairfax County Government Center. These new homes will ensure that more people have an equitable shot at building their own future, right here in Fairfax County,” said Jeff McKay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“For years, I’ve felt that we could make better use of the sea of parking in front of the Fairfax County Government Center to help meet our affordable housing goals. I made the motion to convey the property to the FCRHA for that purpose, and today, we are seeing this concept come to fruition,” said James Walkinshaw, Supervisor, Braddock District, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “I look forward to welcoming 279 families to their new homes at this innovative complex in the Braddock District.”
“During the 2024 calendar year, we have come together to celebrate affordable housing groundbreakings or grand openings several times. Residences at Government Center II is another testament to our commitment to developing affordable housing in all corners of Fairfax County,” said Lenore Stanton, Chair, Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
"We are pleased to help bring affordable housing to Fairfax, just a short distance away from Capital One's headquarters. This development builds on our relationship with Lincoln Avenue Communities and the work we have done to expand affordable housing in Fairfax, Miami, New Orleans and Richmond," said Ed Delany, Senior Director for Community Finance at Capital One. "Capital One provided construction debt, LIHTC equity investments and permanent Freddie Mac loans, including structuring and closing Freddie Mac’s first Forward Bond Credit Enhancement in just 90 days to meet the closing timeline."
“Residences at Government Center II is a perfect example of taking underutilized land and creating something beautiful to support the community,” said Director, Production Patricia Mao Booker at KTGY. “Our architects carefully designed around the surrounding environment to enhance the pedestrian experience for this mixed-use affordable housing complex. We’re proud to support low-income families in Fairfax with this new, beautifully designed community.”
From the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority's press release:
Today, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), together with SCG Development Partners and various elected officials, marked the grand opening of One University, 240 affordable homes for families and older adults adjacent to George Mason University.
“I am extremely proud to see that Fairfax County has successfully implemented HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) authority with One University,” said HUD Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Matt Heckles. “As the first RAD property in the nation to obtain U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approval for demolition and redevelopment, One University was the beginning of a national phenomenon. HUD has converted through RAD more than 170,000 units and generated over $17.7 billion for rehabilitation or reconstruction of these deeply rent-assisted homes, most of which housing extremely low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.”
“One University is a shining example of what is possible when we inject affordable housing solutions with creativity, innovation, and partnership,” said Lenore Stanton, Chair, FCRHA. “This development marks our first time partnering with a major university to deliver a solution that benefits the entire community across generations.”
“The One University development typifies the power of public-private partnerships. The grand opening of this multi-generational affordable housing development, which also includes student housing to serve George Mason University, is a meaningful step toward fostering stronger, more inclusive communities. By bringing together families, seniors, and students into one vibrant community, we're creating opportunities for connection, support, and shared growth. It's a model for affordable housing that works for everyone, no matter their age or stage in life."
“George Mason University is key to Fairfax County’s greater economic development strategy, both as a major employer, and in its cultivation of tomorrow’s leaders. The partnership to create One University delivers a multifaceted affordable housing solution across generations, and provides much-needed student housing for the university,” said Jeff McKay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“The FCRHA’s partnership with HUD, along with its Moving to Work designation, provided the flexibility to design affordable housing customized to Fairfax County’s unique needs and opportunities. This ongoing partnership with our federal government will be critical as we continue to work toward our goal of 10,000 net new affordable homes by 2034,” said James Walkinshaw, Braddock District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
From WKRG 5 News Mobile:
Cheers and applause filled the new Maryvale Place Apartments Tuesday afternoon after the city opened its newest affordable housing complex.
“It’s a huge first step,” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson emphasized.
The Maryvale Place apartments sit on Hurtel Street, which is where the Mae Eanes Middle School used to sit before it was torn down. Mobile Housing Authority CEO Michael Pierce explained how rent will be divided between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the tenants.
“HUD’s going to pay about 70% of the rent via what’s called a hap payment,” Pierce explained. “That’s the payment directly to the landlord. And then the tenant pays about up to 30% of their adjusted income to the landlord to complete that 100%.”
Mobile City Council President CJ Small said the new housing will bring more residents to his district.
“They are used to living in the Maysville community, so this is one step that moving them back into the community and especially moving them back in a more up-to-date modern living facility versus what they was living in,” Small said.
Read WKRG 5 News' article "New affordable housing apartment complex opens in Mobile."