Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
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David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or [email protected].
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Web tool targets idea-sharing and improves cross-sector
collaboration to help low-income families
April 22, 2021
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
April 9, 2021
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
March 31, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) March 31, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon President Biden’s announcement of the American Jobs Plan:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds President Biden’s transformative American Jobs Plan to reimagine and rebuild the American economy by centering housing as key to accomplishing the administration’s top priorities of economic impact, racial equity, and climate change. The $213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit more than one million housing units, with $40 billion targeted at the long-neglected public housing capital needs, is the size and scale that can move the needle on improving public housing infrastructure. CLPHA has called for a 10-year road map to recapitalize the public housing portfolio.
“The centrality of public and affordable housing means its impact reaches beyond shelter. It is also critical to other key elements of the American jobs plan including expanding broadband, improving childcare, and increasing health care opportunities. Public housing authorities are the most efficient delivery mechanism for these critical services because of their understanding of local needs, especially the needs of underserved communities of color. Public housing authorities stand ready to implement the bill when it becomes law.
CLPHA will work closely with Congress to ensure that the housing provisions are fully funded and remain central to the bill.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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Of the complex’s 68 units, 34 are funded by Section 8 project-based vouchers, and 15 of those apartments are set aside for individuals with disabilities. The construction of Key’s Pointe Residences is part of HABC’s massive revitalization plan for Baltimore’s O’Donnell Heights neighborhood.
At the CLPHA Fall Meeting earlier this month, Bruce Katz, former Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program,discussed how housing authorities, cities, and other stakeholders can seize the opportunity of the new Opportunity Zone tax incentives. Below is additional information and resources for CLPHA members on Opportunity Zones, including a CLPHA analysis of public housing developments in Opportunity Zones for members and a policy prospectus from Katz on how to best leverage these new tax incentives.
Background
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established the new tax incentive, which will
“Allow any taxpayer to defer paying tax on capital gains from the sale of property if those gains are timely invested in Qualified Opportunity Funds, which in turn must invest 90% of its assets in businesses located or property used in a low-income community. If investors invest for ten years, they also pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation on that investment.”
Following the establishment of the tax incentives, U.S. governors designated more than 8,700 “Opportunity Zones” in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; many overlap with locations where CLPHA members have public housing communities. Opportunity Zone incentives are unique because they rely on individual investment decisions instead of government distributions, can be utilized for all manner of projects (residential, commercial, industrial, or infrastructure), are not contingent upon pre-specified outcomes or metrics for success, and there is no cap to the amount of benefits investors can receive.
Current Status
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released a notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of a public hearing on Investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones. There are two provisions related to housing in the proposed rule: a working capital safe harbor for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of property for up to 31 months and also a provision stating that the basis attributable to land will not be taken into account when determining whether the building has been substantially improved. According to the rule, excluding the basis of land will help facilitate the repurposing of vacant buildings in Qualified Opportunity Zones.
CLPHA will be reviewing the proposed rule to understand how PHAs can take advantage of Opportunity Zones to further local housing goals. Comments on the notice are due December 28 and the public hearing will be held on January 10, 2019.
Resources for Members
CLPHA Analysis of Members in Opportunity Zones: Using the list of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones and HUD data on public housing buildings, CLPHA performed a comparison analysis to determine which public housing buildings are located in designated Opportunity Zones. We found that 57 CLPHA members had at least one public housing building in a qualified Opportunity Zone. In the attached spreadsheet, you can find a full list of properties, including census tract and geographic data, located in Opportunity Zones, as well as a quick-glance table that lists the housing authority and property development name. Click here to download CLPHA’s Analysis from our Dropbox.
Policy Brief – From Transactions to Transformation: How Cities Can Maximize Opportunities –Bruce Katz and Evan Weiss: This brief details a vision for the potential economic and social outcomes of the Opportunity Zone tax incentives and offers ten steps for cities to leverage local resources in order to take advantage of them. Download the brief from Drexel’s website.
Additional Resources:
Opportunity Fund Directory: The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has released this new online resource that provides descriptions and contact information for publicly-announced Opportunity Funds. View the Directory on NCSHA’s website.
Opportunity Zone Explorer: Enterprise Community Partners has created this mapping tool to help those interested in opportunity zones determine which tracts in their regions have been designated and how they related to other federal programs. Use the Opportunity Zone Explorer on the Enterprise website.
The Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) were recognized for their work in addressing homelessness among community college students and other barriers to higher education in a recent article for Inside Higher Ed. THA’s College Housing Assistance Program began in 2014 in response to rising rents in Tacoma and Pierce Counties. High rates of homelessness among Tacoma Community College students created opportunities for partnership between the College and THA, which now serves 150 students — many of whom have children of their own — who are homeless and near homeless. With the help of a housing voucher and additional financial aid, students are able to continue pursuing their degrees.
CHA is taking a slightly different approach to a similar problem. In working with City Colleges of Chicago through a program known as Partners in Education, the housing authority covers tuition and other fees for residents. Over 600 CHA residents are currently enrolled in Chicago’s community colleges, and while many receive federal and state financial aid, additional assistance from the housing authority ensures continued enrollment. As Moving to Work (MTW) agencies, both THA and CHA are able to engage in postsecondary partnerships as a result of program flexibility.
THA and CHA will further discuss these partnerships with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, and Louisville Metro Housing Authority at a postsecondary convening co-sponsored by CLPHA, Housing Is, and Kresge next month. CLPHA looks forward to discussing how initiatives like these can be replicated and brought to scale across the country.
Hunt Capital Partners has provided $4.2 million in capital federal LIHTC equity financing for Rhododendron Place, a future 30-unit Vancouver, WA housing community funded in part by the Vancouver Housing Authority. Rhododendron Place will house individuals experiencing homelessness with behavioral health disorders or mental disabilities and offer related supportive services.
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and partners held a groundbreaking ceremony for Pacifica at Playa Del Sol, a future community of 42 affordable rental apartments, 12 of which will be set aside for individuals and families with developmental disabilities. SDHC contributed $10.8 million in tax-exempt Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds towards the project, which is expected to cost $17.3 million.
From Spectrum News NY1:
Plans for construction at the Fulton and Elliot-Chelsea houses of New York City’s Housing Authority will resume after a court lifted a four-month-long stay on the project last week.
Eighteen public housing buildings will be replaced by six taller buildings, and current residents are guaranteed a unit in the new buildings, but not all of them are happy with it.
An appellate court decided that while the project may be inconvenient, residents who are objecting have not proved that relocation from their homes will cause irreparable harm.
Lisa Bova-Hiatt, the CEO of NYCHA, joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Wednesday to discuss more.
From HACLA and LACDA's press release:
From the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development's press release:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) today launched the Supportive Preservation Program (SPP), a new initiative aimed at stabilizing and preserving the City’s vital supportive housing stock. The program will establish a dedicated team to manage all supportive housing preservation projects with the goal of addressing the specific needs and policy issues faced by the supportive housing portfolio.
The program will assess the needs of each project and develop a long-term preservation strategy to ensure the financial and physical needs of the project are met and that affordability is preserved. HPD can provide various forms of assistance to projects to address financial needs including granting residential real estate tax exemptions, providing below-market loans, and modifying existing HPD loans in ways to induce conventional financing.
“Supportive housing plays a critical role in our city, providing stability and services to New Yorkers in need. I am proud to be launching the new Supportive Preservation Program to ensure that providers and residents are able to succeed for many years to come. My thanks to the HPD and provider teams who have shaped this program,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. “This program will be an important part of our holistic approach to provide and protect the housing that New Yorkers rely on.”
"New York City has been at the forefront of the supportive housing movement since its inception more than forty years ago. We are proud to once again lead the way with the Supportive Preservation Program, a new initiative which will help stabilize and preserve our supportive housing stock,” said Housing and Preservation Commissioner Dina Levy. “Supportive housing is a vital resource for New Yorkers facing homelessness and other complex challenges. For those struggling with immense challenges, the Supportive Preservation Program will offer an opportunity to live more stable and dignified lives in homes that are safe and affordable."
The launch of the program is an important step to implement Block by Block, the Mamdani administration’s housing plan. The plan, launched on May 26, highlights SPP as a part of its preservation agenda. Block by Block brings the ambition, urgency and investment to address the housing crisis that New Yorkers deserve, including building 200,000 new affordable homes and preserving 200,000 more over the next decade.
From the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's Land Lines Magazine:
Musician Curtis Hunter approaches the world with a smile—even if the world doesn’t always return the gesture. But fate seemed to smile on Hunter last June, at least, when he moved into a new senior housing development built on county-owned land in Fairfax County, Virginia.
A few years before, at 58, Hunter had been assaulted near his old apartment building in Seven Corners, suffering a collapsed lung and broken bones. A difficult stretch followed, including a bout of homelessness and another violent attack. But last year, a Fairfax County caseworker suggested Hunter look into a new affordable housing development for seniors, called Belmont at One University. It’s one of several recent projects that have seen Fairfax County leverage the value of its publicly owned land to spur new affordable housing.
A former handyman and touring musician (he played guitar and harmonica in bands that opened for Los Lobos and Donovan, among other acts), Hunter now lives on disability income and says he’s grateful for his new home.
“I appreciate it so much, it’s a very wonderful thing. I really appreciate that they allow my pet,” he says. Unlike three of his former cats—who would accompany Hunter outside, perched on a carpeted platform he would attach to a backpack or bike rack—his latest cat, Sophie, is timid; adopted at nine and a half, she prefers lounging in the window, gazing at the nearby sports complex and neighbors walking along the bike path.
The field house across the street, where Hunter has taken in the occasional lacrosse or soccer game, is part of George Mason University, a public university with about 40,000 students.
One University is located next door to the college, on a 10.8-acre property owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA). The parcel previously held an FCRHA affordable housing complex of 46 townhomes, called Robinson Square. In 2021, those tenants were relocated to temporary housing until the new homes were ready—a step that was not without challenges or misgivings, but which allowed for a fivefold increase in the number of affordable housing units on site.
The property now comprises three new buildings: Robinson, named for the former townhome complex, which holds 120 affordable one- to four-bedroom units for all ages; Belmont, with 120 affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments reserved for seniors aged 62 and older; and Main on University, with over 300 market-rate student apartments.
The three buildings sit on county-owned land leased at a nominal rate for 99 years—the land added an estimated $12 million subsidy to help the projects get built. However, the buildings are privately owned and managed, and thus pay the county hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece in local property taxes.
This kind of arrangement—a ground lease that allows communities to hold onto their land while sharing in the revenue generated by development on that land—is one of several ways communities are putting public land to use in order to expand affordable housing. And it’s providing new opportunities for tenants of all ages.
From the City of Boston's press release:
Mayor Michelle Wu today joined the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), The Community Builders (TCB), the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED), MassHousing, and the Mildred C. Hailey Tenant Organization to celebrate the completion of phase one of Mildred C. Hailey Apartments in Jamaica Plain, creating 223 new units of housing at 2 and 6 Lamartine Street for Boston residents. This announcement builds on Mayor Wu’s efforts to create more housing across Boston neighborhoods, deliver much-needed improvements to the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments, expand workforce development opportunities for residents and improve quality of life for families.
“Boston is taking every step to create more housing while expanding workforce opportunities for residents, and the Mildred C. Hailey project shows how we can do both through thoughtful redevelopment,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “As we continue to invest in new homes and reconnect this neighborhood, we’re also investing in the supports that help residents move forward—with training and access to good jobs—so that this progress leads to lasting financial stability for families.”
In addition to creating housing, the first phase of the redevelopment of Mildred C. Hailey also creates a new community center named in honor of Anna Mae Cole, a transformational tenant leader who dedicated her life to empowering residents in the Mildred C. Hailey community. The redevelopment also ensures residents have access to a new ground-floor commercial space and the creation of Lamartine Street will increase neighborhood connectivity and smoother travel for residents, families and visitors. The two modern, sustainable buildings delivered through this project provide 91 deeply affordable units and 132 units of affordable and moderate income housing.
“Today’s ribbon cutting marks the completion of 223 new homes for Boston residents,” said BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok. “And at the Boston Housing Authority, we know that building strong communities means investing not only in buildings but in people. This $3.95 million in workforce development funding from HUD and the Cummings Foundation is going to transform the trajectory of residents’ lives, ensuring that alongside stable housing, they have stable, good-paying, and rewarding careers. Together, these investments in housing and economic mobility will create lasting benefits for generations of Bostonians.”
Mayor Wu also announced two important investments from city and federal sources to support workforce development for low-income residents citywide. With a $250,000 investment from the Cummings Foundation, the City is creating a new site for workforce training of proven-risk young adults at Mildred C. Hailey, with programming open to all eligible Boston residents. In addition, the City has also received $3.7 million through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Jobs Plus Initiative, which aims to connect public housing residents with employment, education and financial empowerment services. The investment will create three additional sites for workforce training and career coaching at the BHA’s Ruth Barkley, Alice Taylor, and Franklin Field communities.
“Cummings Foundation is delighted to support the Opportunity Hub, which will bring proven adult education, workforce training, and career support directly to the Mildred C. Hailey community,” said Joyce Vyriotes, executive director of Cummings Foundation. “This initiative reflects the kind of practical, community-based investment that can help residents build skills, access opportunity, and move toward safer, more stable futures.”
The partners for this initiative include the BHA, the Office of Workforce Development (OWD), ABCD, Private Industry Council (PIC), Best Hospitality Training, Lisc Massachusetts, Building Pathways, New England Culinary Arts Training, PowerCorps, EMPath, Roxbury Community College, Santander Bank, Boston Medical Center, Whittier Street Health Center, the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), and Greater Boston Legal Services.
“This investment comes at the perfect time, as the Office of Violence Prevention and Boston Housing Authority continue to fund strategic new ways to work together. This brings resources directly to youth and young adults who deserve to see these types of investments in their immediate neighborhoods. Moreover, this is also an investment in Boston’s Live Long and Well population health equity agenda that aims to improve life expectancy and reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and also our long-term Plan to End Violence,” said Isaac Yablo, Senior Advisor for Community Safety and Director of Boston Public Health Commission’s Office of Violence Prevention.
Together, the $3.95 million in awarded funding will connect residents with workforce development training, individual career counseling, and case management. This will allow students to build job readiness, identify and secure employment, and be successful in the workplace. This funding builds on the City’s ongoing efforts led by the City’s Worker Empowerment Cabinet to expand workforce development opportunities and ensure residents across neighborhoods are connected to resources.