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Members of the Enterprise Real Estate Leadership Council and the High Cost Cities Housing Forum met in joint session in New York City. The Real Estate Leadership Council consists of mission-driven for-profit developers of affordable and mixed-income housing. This Council is co-chaired by Ron Terwilliger and Bart Harvey, and meets annually to offer Enterprise practical advice on a broad range of development topics. The High Cost Housing Forum consists of the housing commissioners of Boston, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The Enterprise Public Policy Office staffs both groups. This was the groups’ first joint meeting.
The meeting coincided with a celebration in New York City that marked the 100,000th affordable home developed during the Bloomberg Administration. One of the sites chosen for the celebration was developed by trustee and Council member Jonathan Rose.
The meeting began with an informal dinner on May 2 with Secretary Shaun Donovan, who described the excitement and challenges of his first year as HUD secretary. Trustees attending the dinner included Edward Norton, Ron Terwilliger, Jonathan Rose, John Boorn, Adam Flatto, and Richard Coles. Former Chairman Bart Harvey and Senior Advisor Paul Brophy were also in attendance.
The theme of the overall meeting was “Creative Financing for Affordable Housing in the Current Credit Crunch,” and consisted of panel discussions and tours. Trustee Alicia Glen participated on a panel on leveraging local public funds for housing development. Jonathan Rose participated on a panel discussion on green housing. Senior members from Enterprise, including Charlie Werhane, Terri Ludwig, Bill Frey, Ali Solis, Scott Hoekman, Lamar Seats, Chickie Grayson, Naomi Bayer, Adrienne Quinn, Abby Sigal and Dana Bourland, joined panels and event functions.
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| The Enterprise Real Estate Leadership Council on the High Line. |
The group visited an exciting building developed by Adam Flatto’s firm and designed by Frank Ghery, toured the High Line with Edward Norton, and visited two Enterprise-financed housing developments in the Bronx. The groups were joined by our community partners/sponsors of these developments.
Former Enterprise senior vice president and now New York City Housing Commissioner Rafael Cestero addressed the meeting at a reception, having come from a five-borough set of events to mark the progress made in affordable housing in New York City. New York City Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber attended the Monday dinner as our special guest.
The meeting ended with a promising discussion about growing the involvement of the Council and Forum members in assisting Enterprise promote appropriate public policy and legislative initiatives at the federal level.
Our thanks go to all the trustees who participated in this meeting, to Bart and Ron for co-chairing the event, and to Paul Brophy and the many staff members at Enterprise who helped make this an outstanding event for the participants. |
