David Bowers, Enterprise Community Partners Market Leader & Co-Convener of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington launches the Capital Region Housing Challenge. Photo courtesy of Bisnow.

The recently launched Capital Region Housing Challenge, was featured in a recent Bisnow article. Titled, “D.C.-Area Business Leaders Launch $1B Affordable Housing Challenge,” the story details the regional effort to catalyze $1 billion to accelerate greater housing affordability in the Capital Region. An excerpt from the piece reads:

The Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington launched the Capital Region Housing Challenge, an effort to spur the D.C. region’s public and private sectors to each add $500M in affordable housing investments above their current baseline by the end of 2020.

Housing Leaders Group co-convenor David Bowers, also the market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, announced the challenge at Bisnow’s Metro D.C. Affordable Housing Summit Wednesday morning in a rousing call to action.

‘The challenge is the call to work collectively, across sectors and geographic boundaries, to fundamentally move the baseline of thinking and investment and connect capital to solutions,” Bowers said. “Those of you that are already investing, we’re challenging you to do more.’

Bowers emphasized that the challenge does not represent a new fund. Rather it is a campaign to spur additional investment in affordable housing from a wide range of sources by setting an ambitious goal and tracking its progress over the next 21 months.

HAND is a member of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington, and you can learn more about the partnership here.

You can find more information on the Challenge and its launch here.

As a proud member of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington (HLG), HAND is excited to share its new initiative: the CAPITAL REGION HOUSING CHALLENGE! Officially launched at the D.C. Metro Affordable Housing Summit, the challenge is a cross-sector, capital solutions platform created to catalyze $1 billion dollars of NEW capital commitments that will accelerate greater housing affordability in the Capital Region. As a key stakeholder, we wanted to make sure you heard the news, and most importantly, know how you can get involved!

WHAT IS THE CAPITAL REGION HOUSING CHALLENGE?
Effectively addressing housing affordability requires a collective effort across multiple sectors and jurisdictions in the Capital Region. The Challenge is a multi-faceted effort to secure $1 billion toward housing affordability in the region by 2020 ($500 million in new private capital and $500 million in new public funds above current commitments).

The Challenge is not creating a new fund, rather it’s a platform to catalyze support and a regional commitment to scale the investment of public and private resources to meet the region’s housing production needs.

READY TO TAKE THE CHALLENGE?
Commitments from private investors, employers, anchor institutions, the philanthropic sector, as well as local and state governments are encouraged. Thank you to these organizations that have accepted the challenge!

• Bernstein Management Corporation
• Greater Washington Community Foundation Partnership to End Homelessness
• Justice Housing Partners
• Kaiser Permanente
• Metro IAF Community Restoration Fund, LLC
• Montgomery Housing Partnership
• The Washington Housing Initiative (Federal City Council & JBG SMITH)

In addition to catalyzing capital to support regional housing affordability, HLG will also be actively engaged in advocacy campaigns that align with the goals of the Challenge. In particular, state and local Trust Funds can leverage significant additional private investment to ensure housing affordability production, preservation, and additional housing support for individuals and families across the income spectrum. HLG will promote working with government officials, housing practitioners, and advocates to create or expand local housing trust funds in every jurisdiction in our region.

Check out this fact sheet for more information on the Challenge and how your organization can get involved.

You can read the full press release on the Challenge’s launch here.