CLPHA Press Room

From the Columbus Dispatch:

I was pleased to read last Sunday’s Dispatch article “Housing authority acting like developer” about the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. Having worked with a dozen or more public-housing authorities in Ohio and elsewhere in the past 45 years, I feel the need to help readers more fully understand the unique work of CMHA.

First, today’s public-housing authorities must be entrepreneurial to survive. CMHA long ago understood that federally appropriated operating subsidies are insufficient and pursued new models for development and economic stability. This includes using tax credits to leverage private capital to stretch its limited public resources.

Read the letter to the Columbus Dispatch "CMHA deserves credit for adjusting to times," featuring the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority plans to spend $247 million in 2020 to acquire 500 units and acquire and rehabilitate, or just rehab, another 928.

The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority continues to shed public housing units while acquiring others where residents can use federal housing vouchers to live.

The authority plans to spend $247 million in 2020 to acquire and renovate units, at an average cost of $172,969, using a combination of money from the agency, tax credits for low-income housing and other sources of outside financing to do so.

CMHA plans to acquire 500 units next year and acquire and rehabilitate, or just rehab, 928 more to boost its inventory.

“What makes us unique is that we have taken on the strategy of a real estate developer, a construction manager,” said Tom Williamson, the housing authority’s chief financial officer.

Read the Columbus Dispatch's article "Housing authority continues to change definition of public housing," featuring the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

From ABC 7 News Chicago:

At the Jane Addams Family Resource Center on the Friday before Christmas, hundreds of kids living in Chicago Housing Authority homes received presents from the man in red, customized according to letters they wrote to Santa through the charity Santa for a Day.

Santa for a Day matches kids to online donors who read their letters and fulfil wishes through purchasing on Amazon.

"Once we get all the packages delivered, we come over here and get gifts and with the kids' first name and their parents name as well," said Nathan Doo, Santa for a Day foreman.

All holiday season a sorting facility in Wilmette has received those orders, truly operating as one of Santa's factories, if you will.

"I feel like I am delivering for a great cause, I am happy for it now," said Kayla Young, Amazon delivery driver.

Read ABC 7 News Chicago's article "Santa for a Day fulfills Christmas wishes for Chicago Housing Authority kids."

From Affordable Housing Finance:

In a new move, MassHousing recently issued $108 million in affordable multifamily housing bonds with a “sustainability bond” designation.

The Sustainability Bonds will finance the preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing communities in Boston and Cambridge.

“Institutional and retail investors are increasingly demanding that their investments drive social impact, and the Sustainability Bond label allows MassHousing to reach new investors who value social equity and environmental action,” says MassHousing executive director Chrystal Kornegay. “The proceeds of this bond transaction will allow MassHousing to finance the preservation and modernization of 415 affordable homes, delivering a better quality of life to residents, while lowering property owners’ operating costs and improving environmental performance.”

MassHousing expects to use the proceeds from the transaction to finance the preservation and substantial rehabilitation of two affordable rental communities: the Blue Mountain Apartments, a 217-unit, scattered-site rental community in Dorchester and Roxbury, and the Daniel F. Burns Apartments, a 198-unit Cambridge Housing Authority property for elderly and disabled residents.

Read Affordable Housing Finance's article "MassHousing Completes Agency’s First Sustainability Bond Transaction," featuring the Cambridge Housing Authority.

From the Kitsap Sun:

It’s not cheap to build a permanent supportive housing complex. Even as city officials across the Washington have touted the benefits of the ‘Housing First’ model, the multi-million investment necessary for construction costs can be prohibitively expensive. 

But in Kitsap, there’s been a surge of progress overcoming funding barriers that have long thwarted potential projects. After years of discussion, Kitsap’s first permanent supportive housing project, Pendleton Place, has continued to see fundraising success. 

The 72-unit apartment complex -— spearheaded by nonprofit Kitsap Mental Health Services — heads into the New Year with around half of its capital budget secured. That’s kept the ambitious project on pace to start construction in September, with plans to accept residents by the end of 2021. 

The apartment complex will provide housing and support services to people living with chronic homelessness, mental illness and substance-abuse disorders. The project is estimated to cost about $21.3 million to build.

...

The Bremerton Housing Authority has kicked in $3.1 million for development — and will supply 56 housing vouchers to cover ongoing costs — and the city was instrumental in locating and re-zoning the site off Kitsap Way just west of Highway 3. 

Read the Kitsap Sun's article "With half of its funding in place, Pendleton Place enters ‘last leg’ of capital push," featuring the Bremerton Housing Authority.