The Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is pleased to announce the availability of up to $12 million* in local and federal funds for the development of affordable housing in Fairfax County. The available funding is provided to further the goals of the FY 2016 Housing Blueprint, consistent with the strategies outlined in Fairfax County’s Strategic Plan for Economic Success.
There are two separate applications:
Responses to Questions on draft RFP for Capital Funds
On June 19, 2015, the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released for comment a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for a total of up to $12 million in local and federal funds for affordable housing development. HCD hosted a “Developer Dialogue” on June 22, and received comments and questions through June 29. The responses to questions received during the comment period, including at the Developer Dialogue event, are available here.
PROJECT-BASED VOUCHERS
Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 75 Project Based Voucher Applications – Deadline September 1, 2015
HCD is also pleased to announce the availability of up to 75 federal Project Based Vouchers. This is a separate competition from that being held for the capital funds described above. The vouchers will be for existing scattered site or multi-family developments or acquisitions consistent with the Housing Blueprint. Priority needs include, but are not limited to, extremely low-income and homeless families and veterans, youth aging out of foster care, victims of domestic violence and persons with disabilities.
The application materials for the Project Based Voucher competition may be found here. Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. on September 1st, 2015.
PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE
A pre-proposal conference on both application processes will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2015 in the HCD Center Conference Room, in the Offices of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), 3700 Pender Drive, Fairfax. SPACE IS LIMITED – Please RSVP by email to rha@fairfaxcounty.gov no later than July 8, 2015.
More than 1,200 affordable housing and community development industry members united at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. for a day of collaboration, innovation and transformation. Themed “Connected Region, Connected Future,” this dynamic meeting:
To kick the day off, the Greater Washington Housing Leaders Group (GWHLG), a collaborative of public and private sector stakeholders moved to action about the housing affordability crisis in the Washington, D.C. region and its potential impact on our economy and quality of life in the future hosted the interactive plenary “Regional Strategies to Increase Affordable Housing Development and Preservation in the Greater Washington Area.” The engaged panel consisted of a never-before-seen cadre of elected officials from municipalities in the region, business leaders and academics who sought to start the conversation around regionalism, a cross-jurisdictional strategy to build and preserve affordable housing. Informed by a George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis forecast, The Washington Regions Future Housing Needs: 2023 and the paper commissioned by Enterprise Community Partners, Call the Question: Will the Greater Washington Region Collaborate and Invest to Solve Its Affordable Housing Shortage, the conversation proved to be a rousing interaction as panelists and presenters went in-depth on the importance of community and political will to create and preserve affordable housing. Today 250,000 households are paying more than half their income on housing, but by 2023 – that number will grow to 400,000 as new households with low-incomes will be added to the region.
The Awards Ceremony and Keynote Address were equally engaging as HAND started the afternoon luncheon off by honoring affordable housing leaders and innovative housing communities in the region with its 2015 Housing Achievement Awards:
….and this year’s Children’s Art Contest First Place Entry….
Community Solutions President and Founder Rosanne Haggerty’s keynote address reminded the participants that by bringing everyone to the table at once, innovative solutions to building challenges can be addressed early in the development process. True collaboration leads to true success:
“Imagine if it always worked this way. Imagine if developers, governments and philanthropic agents saw themselves as part of a shared system with a shared aim. What if, instead of asking, “What would it take to get another deal done?” we asked, “How many apartments would it take to end veteran homelessness, and what’s the straightest line to that outcome?”
Haggerty is a force behind local supportive housing developments like the John and Jill Ker Conway Residence currently under construction on North Capitol St. in Northeast D.C., as well as key national initiatives like the 100,000 Homes Campaign and the current Zero: 2016 effort.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors, guests, and partners for making this year such a success and look forward to seeing you next year for our 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting!
Featured media articles:
Washington Post: New Jobs Jobs in Region Will Boost Number of Low Income Household, Study Says
DC Curbed: By 2023, the D.C. Region Will Have 410,380 New Households
NonProfit Quarterly: The Nonprofit Agenda for Regional Affordable Housing: An Advocacy Manifesto
View all the photos of the day! Visit our Flickr page.
Homes for America takes its motto “Creating Communities, Enriching Lives” to heart. Whether it’s a lease-to-purchase property or an affordable community that serves residents with special needs, for more than 20 years HFA has been a partner to people in need of quality affordable housing throughout Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Last year alone, the organization created or processed more than 700 affordable units in seven communities within Maryland….and they are not slowing down. Housing advocates and co-founders Nancy Rase and Trudy McFall have led the charge on legislation, policy and best practices for two decades. With 6,000 affordable units under their belts, the founders will continue to take HFA – and the families it serves – to even greater heights. We are honored to name HFA the 2015 HAND Nonprofit Developer of the Year, and we wish them much success on the next twenty years of service!
Within a five minute walk of the Benning Road Metro Station in Southeast D.C., the residents of Bass Circle Apartments are once again proud to call this 119-unit apartment community “home.” This was not always the case, however. Just a little while ago, the apartment building had fallen into significant disrepair with the owners defaulting on the mortgage and the property only partially occupied. It was then that the residents through their tenant association – along with the DC Department of Housing and Community Development – selected recognized developer Telesis as their partner in the extensive rehabilitation. With an innovative financing structure, Telesis was able to use federal funds and a creative mix of additional resources to revitalize the property, completing the needed repairs as well as other site enhancements such as energy-efficiency measures that exceeded the Enterprise Green Communities requirements. Today, Bass Circle Apartments is once again a cornerstone of the Marshall Heights neighborhood and HAND is proud to call it the Best Large Affordable Housing Project for 2015!
#Amazing. When Dantes Partners and the Menkiti Group finished Justice Park Apartments in 2014, the 28-unit workforce housing community was already 100% pre-leased, with a waiting list of more than 1000 people. During construction, the development team used an innovative social media marketing campaign to spread the word and the results were #TrulySuccessful.
Built on the site of the infamous park the building was named after, the apartment community lies in the heart of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Columbia Heights and provides green affordable housing to residents looking to live close to jobs, transportation and other lifestyle amenities. Another special note? Justice Park is fitted with special features that support its deaf and hearing-impaired residents, allowing for independent living in a responsive and tactilely enhanced environment. HAND is proud to honor Justice Park Apartments as its 2015 Best Small Affordable Housing Project!
This month we are excited to run a special HAND Member Spotlight series in honor of our Housing Achievement Award recipients. We look forward to hearing more about our winners during the Annual Meeting, but please enjoy these weekly spotlights for now!
HAND’s 2015 President’s Choice Award goes to Walter Webdale, president and CEO of AHC Inc. For fifty years Walter has served in the affordable housing industry. He was just twenty-two when he and his brother, with capital borrowed from their grandmother, purchased and redeveloped an old stone barn into three townhouses in western New York. Firmly on the path of community development, Walter went on to hold leadership positions throughout New York state and then in his adopted home of Virginia, where he became the first director of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development – a position he held for more than two decades. As the current head of AHC Inc., Walter has tripled its multifamily housing portfolio and helped the organization expand its geographic footprint to include properties in Baltimore and Montgomery County. Throughout his career, Walter has pioneered great change in our industry, and we are honored that he is the HAND 2015 President’s Choice Award recipient!
On May 21st, Harkins Builders celebrated their 50th Anniversary at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore. More than 200 guests, including employees, long-time clients, architects, former executives, and other Harkins friends, gathered to celebrate 50 years of preconstruction, construction, and design-build excellence in the Mid-Atlantic region. Harkins President and CEO Dick Lombardo acknowledged all of the people who have contributed to the company’s success, and shared plans for how the company would continue to grow and prosper.Maryland Secretary of Business and Economic Development Mike Gill presented Harkins with a Governor’s Citation expressing the State’s appreciation and good wishes, and Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman presented an Executive Proclamation declaring May 21st, 2015 as Harkins Builders Day in Howard County, Maryland, where the company has its headquarters. The cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception included signature red Harkintinis, a cigar bar, and live music.
On May 15th, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved the merger between Exelon and Pepco Holdings. The Order includes significant benefits to residents and owners of affordable multifamily housing. These benefits include increased investments in energy efficiency, improved access to energy consumption data, and debt forgiveness for low-income utility customers. The Order requires Exelon to provide $57 million for investments in efficiency and clean energy.
These provisions were sought by the National Housing Trust (NHT), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC), and Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) as formal interveners in the merger proceeding.
Twenty-five years ago, Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. (HIP) was founded in Prince George’s County by a group of committed community activists wanting to make a difference in the lives of families with low-incomes. Since its start in 1988, HIP has helped thousands of families achieve their dreams – whether through high-quality affordable housing or personalized counseling – and is a recognized powerhouse known for excellence in design; commitment to green technologies; focus on neighborhood revitalization; and outstanding customer service.
HIP launched its multifamily rental development program by buying distressed fourplexes in the Suitland Manor community and renovating them into comfortable homes for local residents. Now, 25 years later, HIP has developed almost 450 apartment homes, with 100 more in the pipeline.
In 1998, HIP started HIP Homes, a homeownership program that acquires vacant and distressed houses to renovate and resell to first-time homebuyers. To date, it has purchased and sold more than 65 of these homes in Prince George’s County, with 20 of the properties developed in just the past three years. Seeing a need to expand homeownership education among first-time buyers, HIP developed its housing counseling program in 2003. More than 15,000 residents in both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have received pre-purchase counseling, financial capacity training and/or foreclosure prevention services through this program with more coming through the doors each day. In response to the mortgage crisis in 2009, Montgomery County invited HIP to open two housing counseling offices in foreclosure “hot spots” where HIP continues to be active to this day.
In addition to developing quality homes for buyers and renters with low- to moderate-incomes, HIP has also paid for more than 300 college courses for residents who live in its buildings and in communities the organization serves.
For many years, HIP has targeted Palmer Park in Landover for revitalization and has renovated more than 30 homes in the area to date. Strategically located near two metro stations, these renovated homes have provided residents a solid base and convenient access to jobs and other necessities needed for stability. HIP knows how to be a true partner in providing support to families, and looks forward to “transforming neighborhoods and transforming lives” for many more years to come.
HIP is proud to be a member of HAND and uses its membership to collaborate with colleagues and peers invested in creating housing affordability and strong communities to Maryland-based families.
For a deeper look into HIP’s 25 year history, click here.
HAND is pleased to spotlight HIP, which certainly contributes to our organization’s COLLABORATION, INNOVATION and TRANSFORMATION within the metropolitan area!
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Payments: Orders placed on the event registration page are not confirmed until payment is received. A confirmation email will be sent to the email address listed in your registration. If you paid by credit card, a receipt will be sent to the email address listed in your registration. If you mail a check, all payments must be received within seven days of completing your registration form. Checks should be remitted to: HAND, PO Box 48386, Washington, DC 20002
Guest List & Dietary Preference: If your registration includes a luncheon table or multiple guests, please submit guest names and menu choices by May 1, 2020. Submit guest names here.
Housing Expo: Plan to exhibit? Download the Housing Expo FAQs here.
Omni Shoreham Hotel Room Block: For attendees looking to secure overnight accommodations on May 25th, HAND has secured a rate starting at $189 for conference attendees. There are a limited amount of rooms available, so visit this link today to reserve your room. May 10th is the last day to secure a room at the discounted rate.
Ad Submission: The artwork for advertisements should be submitted to annualmeeting@handhousing.org. You can download the ad spec sheet here. Deadline for ad submission is April 13, 2020.
Cancellations & Changes: If you wish to cancel or change your registration for the Annual Meeting & Housing Expo, please send a request in writing to annualmeeting@handhousing.org. All cancellation requests made prior to April 27th will receive a 50% refund. For cancellation requests made after April 27th, no refund will be provided.
Door Prizes: Are you interested in donating a door prize to this year’s Annual Meeting? Email annualmeeting@handhousing.org to coordinate with our team.
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