Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
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David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
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WASHINGTON (May 9, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will formally propose a new rule tomorrow that would disallow undocumented immigrants from living in federally subsidized housing. The proposed rule, which will be published in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period, would impact tens of thousands of immigrant families that include U.S. citizen children and other family members who are eligible for assistance.
The Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, Sunia Zaterman, issued the following statement in response to the proposed rule:
“CLPHA is strongly opposed to HUD’s punitive proposal that would make it harder for public housing authorities (PHAs) to serve their communities.
“The consequences are significant. Well over 10,000 mixed-immigration status family members currently served by one PHA, plus tens of thousands more around the country, would be impacted by the rule, making them more vulnerable to housing instability. HUD’s proposal would create more challenges for an already underfunded homeless services and prevention system.
“This policy is antithetical to the mission of the federal public housing program – to provide housing that is safe, decent and affordable to low- and very low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and administer the housing choice voucher program.
“We are housers, not ICE agents, but that is exactly what HUD’s proposed rule is asking public housing authorities (PHAs) to become by requiring PHA staff to determine the immigration status of every household member and report it into a federal database.
“CLPHA will be submitting public comments in opposition to the proposed rule during the comment period.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis, and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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Public Housing is as much a part of the national infrastructure as Route 66, the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Hoover Dam.
WASHINGTON (April 30, 2019) - Today the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled “Housing in America: Assessing the Infrastructure Needs of America’s Housing Stock” to examine the need for investment in affordable housing infrastructure--including public housing—and investigate additional barriers to developing affordable housing.
Sunia Zaterman, the executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, issued the following statement after watching the hearing and reviewing draft legislation circulated by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) that would authorize funding for several housing infrastructure projects, including $70 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund:
“Public housing is as a much a part of the national infrastructure as Route 66, the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Hoover Dam. Public housing helps communities and families thrive by providing more than one million low- and very-low income families, children, elderly and persons with disabilities with a stable place to live, connecting low-income workers to economic opportunities, and spurring regional job creation and economic growth.
“But, years of chronic underfunding have led to the deterioration of the public housing stock and since 1990, at least 300,000 units have been lost because of the lack of adequate resources to maintain them. The federal disinvestment in public housing has contributed to an untenable shortage of stable housing for low-income households.
“A reinvestment in public housing should include adequate funding to preserve and improve the public housing stock. Equally important is thoughtful consideration about additional tools that public housing authorities can use to modernize and develop affordable housing to meet the needs of residents and local communities. Expanding the Rental Assistance Demonstration program and increasing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations, for example, would support public housing authorities’ recapitalization and redevelopment efforts.
“Housing is infrastructure and we thank the Chairwoman and the Committee for underscoring the importance of public housing during today’s hearing and in the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2019.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis, and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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WASHINGTON (April 22, 2019) - On April 17, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a proposed rule for Congressional review to disallow undocumented immigrants from living in federally subsidized housing. The notice is not yet publicly available but will eventually be posted in the Federal Register for a public comment period.
In response to reports of HUD’s proposed rule, Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, issued the following statement:
“On its face, this proposal is very problematic. Like the public charge rule, it is an unwarranted attack on low-income immigrant families who are welcome members of the communities served by public housing authorities.
“This rule is another attempt to gut the very core of public housing’s mission to provide housing that is safe, stable, and affordable to our country’s most vulnerable populations.
“CLPHA is engaging our membership to understand how this rule would directly impact their communities and will be submitting public comments in opposition to the proposed rule during the comment period. “
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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From the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura's press release:
The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) and nonprofit BRIDGE Housing are pleased to announce the Grand Opening of Westview Village II, a 50-unit affordable rental development which broke ground in the spring of 2022.
The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura and BRIDGE Housing partnered to redevelop Westview Village, the HACSB’s oldest public housing development, over four phases of development. All residents pay 30% of their income as rent.
“The timing of this next phase of Westview Village is significant as it is our 75th Anniversary year and this was our first public housing project,” said Jeffrey Lambert, Chief Executive Officer, HACSB. “The success of this particular project is emblematic of our successful housing programs across the City and we are very proud of it, “said Lambert.
Westview Village Phase II replaced 10 public housing units with 50 modern one- and two-bedroom apartments. The property is located on a 2-acre site on the Westside of Ventura. The development includes 44 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments. Five of the units will be reserved for persons who are experiencing homelessness.
Westview Village II will also include a state-of-the-art community center, a commercial kitchen, two early childhood development classrooms, multipurpose rooms, a rooftop community garden, and a public park. This will complete the third phase of the vision for the Westview Village redevelopment. There will be 286 new affordable rentals and this phase of development will be the hub for this new housing campus. 50% of the Westview II units are fully accessible (mobility accessibility features), and 2 units have audio/visual features for blind/deaf/hard of hearing tenants.
Westview Village I, completed in 2019, was the initial phase of the redevelopment which includes 131 apartments with one to four bedrooms, management offices, a community room, and a public park. Phase I is all electric and 50% net zero. It provides for greywater reuse in landscaping. All residents pay 30% of their income as rent. All residents were temporarily relocated during construction and had the right to return. As part of Phase I, a new street, Village Way, was designed and built to connect all phases of the redevelopment.
Westview Village III construction started in September 2020 and was completed in December 2022. Phase III includes 105 apartments with one to four bedrooms, a community room, and public park. Phase III is all electric and 100% net zero and makes a major contribution to addressing climate change including by reducing vehicle miles traveled. The project’s storm drain system allows for the capture and infiltration of storm water. Twenty-one apartments are set aside for families who are experiencing homelessness.
From Tap Into Paterson:
Making the American Dream come true meant waking up early for nearly 500 Paterson and area residents who filled International High School for the North Central Jersey Association of Realtors (NJCAR) Housing Fair and Expo on Saturday.
Co-hosted by the Paterson Housing Authority and the Fair Housing Council, the more than half-day event featured a number of workshops on topics such as renting versus owning a home, down payment assistance, and financial planning, as well nearly two dozen exhibitors each offering relevant information to attendees seeking to take the journey towards homeownership.
“We all need shelter to live in and communities that are vibrant to feed our souls,” Irma Gorham, Executive Director of the Paterson Housing Authority(PHA) said, laying the foundation for what the anticipated outcomes of the day were. “We are here today to move towards progress, for our communities and for our families.”
After a video outlining the work of Lee Porter, the Founder of the Fair Housing Council, and a woman that many have called a “pioneer and champion” for homeownership, especially in racially diverse neighborhoods, Gorham would be joined on stage by Chris Coccia, President of the NJCAR. Together, the pair recognized the decades of work by Porter, giving Wade Wheeler, a Housing Counselor with Porter’s organization, an award in the housing icon’s absence.
Coccia explained to those in attendance that the process of buying a home typically isn’t as it appears on reality television shows and can be very challenging. His organization, he said, was at International High School on a warm late spring day because they want potential homeowners to be “educated so that they can make great decisions.”
Surveying the growing crowd in the school’s gymnasium, Coccia would tell TAPinto Paterson that the attendance showed that “we needed this,” before intimating to Gemelly Caraballo, Vice Chair of the PHA, that the Saturday event wouldn’t be the last time that NJCAR would be in the Paterson community.
“This is exactly what we do,” Coccia added, suggesting that the newly formed relationship with the PHA would have a long term, and positive, impact.
Read Tap Into Paterson's article "Paterson Housing Authority, Partners Host Housing Fair and Expo."
From the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency's newsletter:
SHRA and state and local partners gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Mutual Housing on the Boulevard a new affordable housing development located along the Stockton Boulevard transit corridor near Florin Road in South Sacramento.
SHRA served as the conduit for a loan commitment of nearly $7 million and tax exempt revenue bonds to help fund this project. The Agency also provided 67 Project Based Vouchers with 50 of those units set aside to house families experiencing homelessness with the help of the California Department of Housing and Community Development's No Place Like Home program.
Mutual Housing on the Boulevard construction is complete and is fully occupied for all 127 apartments for extremely low-income families.
“It’s not just about buildings, it’s not just about creating a unit it’s really about how do you create community and how do you create a home. One of those things that’s really necessary is having the social services and making sure that the wraparound services are there,” said SHRA Executive Director La Shelle Dozier.
Mutual Housing California has partnered with three social service partners to provide case management services for the permanent supportive housing units: Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, Telecare, and Heartland Child and Family Services.
From Fox 7 News Austin:
"Heavy equipment continues to roll across what was Rosewood Courts in east Austin. It’s been two years since the groundbreaking that came with a completion date targeted for fall 2024.
Little is left from what was one of the first, if not the first, public housing complexes for African Americans. The transition to what will be called Pathways at Rosewood Courts is costing just under $63 million, a major endeavor for the Austin Housing Authority.
"Absolutely. I mean, this is the next chapter," said COAHA Chief Operating Officer Sylvia Blanco.
The supply chain and labor issues, following the pandemic, have delayed completion of this next chapter.
"So now our new timeline is, we'll have the first building available for occupancy by mid 2025. And we should wrap up having the entirety of the site open by the end of 2025," said Blanco.
A few of the original Rosewood units are the only things still standing that currently resemble homes. The remaining eight are being refurbished.
"We've also removed the pitch roofs that had been added on over the years. So now it's the original roofs," said Blanco. "I think it's sort of like seeing a glimpse of that history and time as we like to say, you know, if LBJ himself were here, he would recognize the buildings."
Most of the site is going through a total re-design. Walls have started going up for one of three apartment buildings, which will provide 184 new units. 60 more than what were available. The apartment homes will range in size from a studio to four-bedrooms. There will also be 12 town homes which will be sold as affordable housing.
"Our Rosewood families and our other families that we serve throughout our portfolio will get the first priority in being able to purchase one of these affordable town homes," said Blanco."
Read Fox 7 News Austin's article "East Austin historic neighborhood redevelopment pushes completion to 2025."
From the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority's press release:
The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) announced today it has completed the $30 million purchase of the 160-unit Waldren Woods apartments with plans to ensure the property operates as a mixed-income community for households of all income levels.
“There’s no question the need for mixed-income housing is at an all-time historic high in Columbus and throughout central Ohio,” said CMHA President and CEO Charles Hillman.
“Our decision to add Waldren Woods to the CMHA portfolio reflects a strong commitment to our mission to provide access to affordable housing opportunities for all residents of Franklin County,” Hillman said.
CMHA bought the property from a single-asset LLC created by Donald R. Kenney (DRK) & Company Realty, a full-service commercial real estate company in Columbus that developed Waldren Woods.
The acquisition is part of CMHA’s strategy to acquire multifamily housing communities located in proximity to schools, transportation options, job centers, healthcare services and other amenities.
The purchase also exemplifies CMHA’s strategy to own, preserve and promote “mixed-income developments,” defined by national nonprofit Local Housing Solutions (LHS) as generally referring to residential settings in which housing is affordable to individuals and families with different income levels.