HAND Members,

Greetings & Happy Black History Month! As the Library of Congress reminds us, the origins of this month can be attributed to Carter G. Woodson, who “believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice.” I hope you will join us in honoring the rich history of the African American experience, and the milestones that are yet unseen. 

It’s hard to believe it’s officially been one year in my role as Executive Director. The time is moving swiftly, but it’s already been such an incredible adventure. I continue to extend my sincere gratitude to my predecessors, HAND’s Board of Directors, and the larger HAND community for your support.

If you’ve been following our journey, you should have also noticed that our team is growing! Over the last two quarters, we have welcomed our two newest staff members: Steven Palmer (Director of Public Policy) & Racine Tucker-Hamilton (Director of Communications & Thought Leadership). Both Steven & Racine have been incredible additions to the staff, and I am confident that their expertise will help us sustain a first-class member experience. You can learn more about our entire team here – and as always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions, partnership opportunities, or concerns you’d like to discuss.

I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t also acknowledge the unprecedented climate that we are all navigating. In times of uncertainty, there are often more questions than answers – but what I can share with you is nothing new: HAND stands ready to work with its members to remove barriers to opportunity for our most vulnerable neighbors. As we process the implications of shifts in policies and programs, we will also prioritize bringing our members along with custom learning opportunities, policy updates and additional resources. I encourage you to keep up with us via notices just like this one, and on our website at www.HANDHousing.org. Over the coming months we have a number of sessions that we believe will be impactful for your work, culminating in the Annual Meeting & Housing Expo on June 5! We can’t make any of this happen without YOU, and we hope you will tap in as we CONVENE, EDUCATE and ACTIVATE our collective. 

Thank you for all that you do for our communities across the region. It is an honor to work together toward greater outcomes.

In partnership,

By: Laura Searfoss, Senior Program Director, Enterprise

New transit investment presents incredible opportunities for our region: more resilient and equitable communities, shorter and easier commutes, and access to more places to live near transit. The Purple Line construction of an east-west light rail between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will strengthen physical, social, and economic connections across the DMV.

The often-touted economic benefits of new or expanded transit, however, have a checkered history, especially in communities of color. As highlighted in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed, “Purple Line must not jeopardize affordable housing,” we don’t need to look far across the Greater Washington region to see patterns of exclusion and displacement due to large-scale transit investment. Recognizing the importance of preserving affordability in communities near new transit, nearly all jurisdictions in the Greater Washington—including Montgomery and Prince George’s counties—have policies that prioritize affordable homes near transit.

In 2014, the Purple Line Corridor Coalition was formed to ensure the economic benefits of the new light rail extend into surrounding communities. The coalition spurs collaboration between cross-sector partners to realize shared goals and achieve greater impact.

The coalition has seen the power of what private and philanthropic placed-based capital can do, especially when coupled with local public funding. In three short years, the Purple Line Capital Pool supported the creation or preservation of about 1,100 affordable homes. In many cases, it provided early stage, below-market loans to buy a property or support pre-development work—critical capital that helps move a project forward but can be hard to come by. This pool, administered by the National Housing Trust, leveraged more than $104 million. 

With the Purple Line about three years from operations, now is the time to accelerate investments in Purple Line communities to stabilize households and preserve affordability.

Earlier this year, Enterprise Community Partners released a Capital Needs and Nonprofit Analysis for the Purple Line. The study calls for bigger, bolder, cross-sector investment in affordable homes and significantly more place-based capital. The study estimates a need for $740 million, in addition to the $2 billion already in Maryland’s housing system, to meet the Purple Line Corridor Coalition’s goal to stabilize or add homes for at least 17,000 households earning $72,000 or below before 2027.

It reinforces that every sector has a role to play in reaching our region’s housing goals and many of HAND’s calls to action for the private and philanthropic sectors: providing direct funding for housing preservation and development; creatively deploying resources to invest in housing development and services; and using their influence for advocacy and policy change.

Request for Qualifications: Right of First Refusal

The Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development is seeking responses (“Qualification Statements”) from qualified non-profit and mission-oriented for-profit developers (“Developers”) with strong affordable rental housing track records and demonstrated experience in acquiring, owning, operating, rehabilitating, and developing quality rental housing with affordability covenants who are interested in serving in a pool of qualified parties to serve as assignees or designees (the “Roster of Responders”) to exercise DHCD’s Right of First Refusal (“ROFR”). For more information on the ROFR and to respond to this request, please review the ROFR developer bench application. The proposal closing date is January 31, 2022.