CLPHA Press Room

From the Chicago Housing Authority's press release:

The Chicago Housing Authority is announcing the launch of “Cabrini Now,” a community-driven planning and design process to accelerate new mixed-income housing and economic development in the Near North neighborhood.

Cabrini Now builds on previous planning efforts, including the 2015 Development Zone Plan, to update and further the community’s vision for the neighborhood, and respond to current affordable housing needs in the area and across Chicago.

This effort is the first in a series of updated community planning initiatives that CHA will undertake to inform its long-term development strategy. A planning initiative around the State Street Corridor is scheduled to begin later this year.

CHA will host a Cabrini Now kickoff celebration from 5:30-7:30p.m., May 8 at Ogden-Jenner Elementary School on 1119 N. Cleveland Ave. The whole community is welcome to share their voice at this interactive event. The kickoff celebration will not only provide information about the planning process but will also invite community members to express their vision and priorities and share what they love most about living in Cabrini.

“Cabrini, like Chicago as a whole, has continued changing since 2015. How the neighborhood looks and feels is fundamentally shifting with rising housing costs and significant new developments like the Bally’s casino, Lincoln Yards and North Union,” said CHA CEO Tracey Scott. “CHA recognizes that it’s critically important for us to hear from community residents throughout this process. That’s why we’re taking an inclusive approach to amplify diverse voices and aspirations and ensure that the resulting vision and plan is a true reflection of the entire community’s wants and needs.”

“By proactively updating our plans for our large sites, we are laying the groundwork for more affordable housing construction,” Scott said.

The Cabrini Now kickoff celebration is the first of multiple public engagement meetings that will take place during the planning process. CHA has already begun to consult with key stakeholders in addition to CHA residents. The engagement process is designed to be equitable and family-friendly with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds encouraged to participate. The kickoff celebration and future engagement meetings will include specific opportunities for children and youth to contribute their views too.

Cabrini Now will create development concepts for specific sites and for the remaining CHA land in the Cabrini neighborhood and development concepts for specific sites, including the vacant Cabrini Row Homes. The plan is expected to be released by the end of 2024.

Cabrini Now goals include:

• Update and build on the existing 2015 community plans and vision in a changing neighborhood context.
• Respond to the current and future affordable housing needs of the neighborhood and Chicago.
• Embrace all voices in the neighborhood and co-create a shared vision for Cabrini’s future.

CHA has retained planning and architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz to lead this process. The project team will recommend an updated plan for Cabrini using the latest principles for building complete communities such as the 15-minute city concept popularized in Paris, as well as lessons learned in recent decades of community planning in Chicago.

Since 2005, CHA’s investments have resulted in more than 3,500 new homes in Cabrini, including almost 1,000 CHA-subsidized apartments. In addition to the Cabrini Now planning efforts, CHA also has three active development initiatives in the area:

• Oak & Larrabee (78 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 17 affordable rental units)
• Parkside 5 (99 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 28 affordable rental units)
• Clybourn & Larrabee (first phase under detailed design and development)

More information about Cabrini Now is available at thecha.org/cabrininow.

From the San Diego Housing Commission's press release:

A newly opened affordable rental housing development for seniors, built in collaboration with the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), provides Marian a home she can afford after years of housing instability, including most recently living in a homelessness shelter despite having a job.

“I paid into Social Security since the time I was 18 years old,” said Marian, one of the first residents of Puesta del Sol in Linda Vista and a former Department of Defense and retail employee. “I thought I had it made, then inflation happened. As it turns out, I didn’t have enough money to rent an apartment on fixed income.”

Now, Marian is confident she’ll be able to stay in San Diego at Puesta del Sol.

Developed by Community HousingWorks in collaboration with SDHC and additional partners, Puesta del Sol consists of 59 one-bedroom apartments for seniors ages 55 and older with low- and very-low incomes, including six units set aside for seniors who previously experienced homelessness, like Marian.

“We’re working on every facet of this challenge to try and make sure that folks who are willing to work hard, who want to be a part of the community, can live in this community, and that’s not currently a given, but we’re going to keep working until that is a given,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said at Puesta del Sol’s grand opening today.

The opening of Puesta del Sol, which means “sunset” in Spanish, marks the culmination of a larger intergenerational infill development, together with Amanecer (or “sunrise”), an adjacent development in collaboration with SDHC that opened last year with 95 rental apartments for families with low income, transition-age youth and veterans who experienced homelessness.

“It’s great to see projects like this. It was an intentional thing that was done by Community HousingWorks, to say: Let’s have families there, and then let’s have seniors right here on this block. And that is really, really important,” said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, whose Council District 7 includes the Linda Vista site where Puesta del Sol was built.

SDHC awarded 59 federal rental housing vouchers to Puesta del Sol that will help the residents pay rent. When a tenant moves out, the housing voucher remains with Puesta del Sol to help to assist a new resident.

“It is fantastic to see a project that is specifically designed to serve seniors and has made space for formerly homeless seniors,” SDHC Vice Chair of the Board Ryan Clumpner said. “For 59 senior households, Puesta del Sol provides a peace of mind and stability of having rental home that they can afford in their golden years.”

In addition, SDHC awarded a loan of more than $4 million toward the development. The loan consisted of resources from the City of San Diego’s Affordable Housing Fund, which SDHC administers.

The apartments at Puesta del Sol will serve seniors earning 30 percent to 60 percent of San Diego’s Area Median Income, currently $36,400 to $72,720 per year for a two-person household. It also includes one manager’s unit.

“We pride ourselves on making quality, affordable places for people to call home, not just to live but truly to prosper,” Community HousingWorks President & CEO Sean Spear said. “Much of that is really focused on our efforts around providing the right types of housing that are needed in our communities.”

Puesta del Sol consists of a three-story, L-shaped building with a courtyard that includes a community garden, outdoor fitness equipment, a swing and a barbecue/picnic area. The development also includes a trail along the perimeter of the site to encourage residents to walk.

Amenities at Puesta del Sol include a multipurpose community room with kitchen, computer lab, roof top terrace, centralized laundry room, management leasing office and conference room. A resident reading room and n upper-level terrace provide additional common areas for residents.

Puesta del Sol is conveniently located near well-served transit stops, employment, shopping centers, Linda Vista Community Park, a recreation center, library, schools and a full-service grocery store.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) was honored to welcome several HUD staff to tour OCHA properties. HUD guests included Richard Monocchio, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Public and Indian Housing; Candace Valenzuela, Regional Administrator, Region VI; Sharon Gordon-Ribiero, Field Office Director, OKC; Leslie Bradley, Deputy Regional Administrator; and Greg Jungman, Director of Public Housing, Oklahoma.

The group toured the John H. Johnson affordable assisted living community and Will Rogers Courts family housing development.

From HUD's press release:

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Terner Labs cohosted an event in Detroit, Michigan, uniting leaders from the public sector, housing experts, researchers, and technologists for the third iteration of their Housing & Technology Symposium series. HUD leaders also traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to highlight innovative affordable housing partnerships.

“These are a first-of-its-kind innovations that leverage both HUD funding and modular housing construction – a technology that PD&R and HUD are eager to help scale – to create high-quality affordable housing that is sustainable, energy-efficient, and well-integrated into the surrounding neighborhood,” said Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. “It leverages so many innovations all at once – including Minneapolis first-in-the-nation comprehensive zoning reforms – to better serve communities.”

The visits were the first in HUD’s “Road to Innovation” tour series, led by the Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R), where HUD leaders will travel around the country to uplift examples of investment in innovative construction techniques boosting affordable housing supply. The partnership with Terner Labs, announced by HUD’s former Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in 2023, aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America Agenda and the Administration’s housing supply action plan, offering enhanced access to funding and resources.

The Detroit event explored the use of technology to promote homeownership and wealth-building for Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, particularly in the Midwest. Technology and development experts presented demonstrations on credit repair and policy tools, offering valuable insights into the homebuying process. Solomon Greene, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of PD&R, alongside HUD Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane Shelley, emphasized the importance of encouraging investment in homeownership assistance.

“HUD is deeply committed to expanding housing and community development, with a steadfast focus on creating equitable, inclusive communities and ensuring quality, affordable homes for all individuals and families,” said Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane Shelley.

In Minneapolis, HUD leaders explored the city’s most innovative public housing initiatives. The officials toured several sites, including one of Minneapolis Public Housing Authorities’ (MPHA) sixteen Family Housing Expansion Program (FHEP) “scattered sites,” strategically located to foster community growth while meeting the cities affordability goals. Taking advantage of HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) flexibilities and project-based vouchers, the FHEP projects have added 84 units of affordable family housing to MPHA’s stock using modular construction techniques and 16 solar roof arrays, increasing housing accessibility in a growing community. The tour concluded at Miro Apartments, showcasing a modular approach, affordable units, Opportunity Zone funds, and a large solar roof array, all contributing to housing accessibility in a growing neighborhood.

The “Road to Innovation” tours will culminate in Washington, DC with HUD’s 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase slated for June 7th through 9th on the National Mall. The showcase is a public event during which leading homebuilders, technologists, and designers will show their cutting-edge approaches to increase housing supply, lower construction costs, increase energy efficiency, and reduce housing expenses.

From the Seattle Times:

Washington state will receive more than $156 million to launch programs to provide rooftop solar and other forms of solar energy to people with lower incomes and on the front lines of climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a total of $7 billion in grants Monday from the agency’s Solar for All grant competition. The program is funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

In its grant application, the state Department of Commerce proposed to create several new programs, for single-family homeowners, community solar projects, multifamily affordable housing properties and tribal nations.

The state plans to further define eligibility requirements and launch its programs by summer 2025. The funds should be fully disbursed by 2029, according to the Commerce Department.

Under EPA rules, funding from the grant to the state is intended to serve low-income and disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged communities are defined in the federal Climate and Economic Justice mapping tool; low-income is generally defined as households with incomes at or below the greater of 80% area median income and 200% of the federal poverty level, or properties providing affordable housing, according to the Commerce Department.

Standing in the sun-drenched courtyard of the Seattle Housing Authority’s Hinoki building Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee told The Seattle Times the infusion of federal cash was “heaven sent.”

Atop the 136-unit building were rows of solar panels, enough to power up about 10% to 15% of the building’s common areas and reduce the building’s operating costs. The community helped shape the design of the building, and one of the many values they identified was environmental stewardship, said Rod Brandon of the Seattle Housing Authority.

Washington residents who have received solar funding under previous state programs have shared stories of their electricity bills being reduced, and in some cases eliminated, Commerce Director Mike Fong said.

In addition to the installation of the panels, Fong said the money will help create jobs, workforce training programs like those at Northwest Indian College, and help Indigenous communities develop energy projects.

“We are punching above our weight class as a state in terms of securing federal funding,” Fong said. “And we’re going to do right by all Washingtonians.”

Read the Seattle Times' article "WA solar energy projects getting $156 million in federal funds," featuring the Seattle Housing Authority.