Greetings from Enterprise New York! I’m very happy to be back from maternity leave and working to address the many critical issues facing the affordable housing field today. As you know, the need for our work has only increased as more and more individuals and families face homelessness due to the struggling economy and foreclosure crisis.
Meanwhile, our industry is going through an unprecedented period of change that’s making it harder than ever to meet that great need. Notably, investment in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) has tumbled. The total amount of tax credit equity available for low-income housing has decreased from $9 billion to about $4 billion since 2007, leaving gaps in many projects’ financing. (See the New York Times article “Shovel-Ready, but Investor-Deprived” for more on this issue.) We are also seeing investors asking more than ever of developers, demanding experience, a successful track record and strong balance sheets.
In response, Enterprise is coordinating all our resources to bring together each of the strategies that make affordable housing happen:
- bringing capital to affordable housing projects,
- developing innovative new solutions for the field, and
- transforming policy at the city, state and federal levels.
(These three goals are detailed in Enterprise’s national strategic plan, launched earlier this year.)
For example, in partnership with industry and affordable housing advocates, we are leading a campaign that supports key policies to make the LIHTC more flexible and appealing to new investors. While we’re still not sure how the tax credit market will look in 2010, we are seeing corporations and other types of investors taking an interest, which is a good sign. (Read the recent interview with Enterprise Community Investment President and CEO Charlie Werhane in Affordable Housing Finance.)
Enterprise has also been working closely with our local, state and federal housing agencies, as well as elected officials, to make sure that public funds are effectively allocated and deployed for affordable housing to help fill financing gaps. For example, Enterprise led the effort to ensure that nearly $4 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds were included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to help cities and states acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed homes. More recently, we helped ensure that another $2 billion for NSP was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the stimulus bill). (Visit our Save America’s Neighborhoods page for details.)
We’re also focusing on policy here in New York – for example, we’re working to make sure that local practitioners can access the increased weatherization funds that came through the stimulus bill. (See our archived Webinar on Accessing Weatherization Funding in New York.) On the solutions side, we’re developing a pilot New York Green Retrofit Fund as a systematic strategy for green preservation – making buildings environmentally and economically sustainable while preserving their affordability. We’re also looking at other ways to help community-based developers stabilize their housing portfolios and become positioned to operate successfully into the future.
Most importantly, we’re committed to working with you, our partners, to make sure we’re developing the solutions and focusing on the issues that matter to you. Your input is important to us and we want to hear from you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us with ideas or questions, or to talk about how Enterprise can partner with your organization. Enjoy your summer!
Enterprise brought together New York-based interior designer Sara Bengur, retailer West Elm, landscape designer J. Mendoza Gardens, Inc., and others to complete the common room and adjoining outdoor area at New Destiny Housing Corporation’s Marcello Manor, a green building in the Bronx for low-income survivors of domestic abuse and other low-income families. The spaces were dedicated in memory of Kathleen Werner Marcello, a survivor of domestic violence. Download the press release (PDF).
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| L-R: Susannah Gill of Your Life Photography; Greg Gill of J. Mendoza Gardens; Decorative Painter Lillian Heard; New Destiny Housing Corporation Executive Director Carol Corden; Enterprise New York Deputy Director Victoria Shire; Miss Nadine; and interior designer Sara Bengur. |
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The newly completed Marcello Manor Common Room |
Enterprise and Mount Hope Housing Company announced the grand opening of the New Hope Walton Project, a 63-unit environmentally friendly affordable housing development for low-income residents in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx. This project is the latest success in Mount Hope’s neighborhood revitalization strategy. Download the press release (PDF).
Enterprise Eastern Regional Operating Officer Keith Fairey moderated a recent panel discussion on the community development roots of green building in the Bronx, featuring speakers from Bronx Pro Real Estate Management, Fordham Bedford Housing Company, and University Neighborhood Housing Program. The event was a warm-up for the Spring 2009 Green Buildings Open House hosted by the nonprofit GreenHomeNYC, in which three Enterprise Green Communities projects were showcased: Atlantic Terrace, Green Decatur, and El Jardin de Selene.
On July 15, CAMBA Executive Director Joanne M. Oplustil will be honored at the 2009 Building Brooklyn awards, presented by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and its Real Estate & Development Committee. CAMBA’s Morris Manor project in Flatbush, which Enterprise supported with a Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity investment, will also receive a Building Brooklyn Award. Learn more and support the event.
Intervale Green in the Bronx, developed by the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo) with Green Communities support from Enterprise, was a recipient of the 15th Annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards, recognized as an outstanding example of green affordable housing. Download the press release (PDF). Read the feature in Time magazine.
The Enterprise Green Communities Criteria were included in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2009 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Capital Fund Recovery Competition Grants, meaning that public housing agencies must meet the Green Communities Criteria (with some amendments) in order to qualify for funds for energy retrofit improvements. This funding was included as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which President Obama signed into law in February of this year. Download statement from Enterprise (PDF). Visit Green Communities Online for more on the NOFA.
Enterprise has received a $95 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation as part of the $1.5 billion allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Enterprise will put this allocation toward the creation of the Enterprise Green Communities New Markets Tax Credit Program, one of the first national financing vehicles for environmentally sustainable commercial, community, and mixed-use developments in low-income areas in the United States. Read the press release.
Enterprise’s New York City office is seeking a Director of Relationship Management, a Program Director, an Office Manager, an Asset Manager, an Underwriter, and a Development Analyst Intern. Download summary of available positions (PDF) or visit our Careers Page for detailed job descriptions.
Join us for “A Building Science Primer for Energy-Efficiency Retrofits,” a two-part workshop on June 22 and 29 from 9 AM to 1 PM. The workshop is targeted to project managers and developers contemplating energy-efficiency retrofits, and will cover the fundamentals of building envelopes, heat and hot water, appliances, and more. Led by Steven Winter Design, a division of Steven Winter Associates, Inc. View agenda and register here. Enterprise New York thanks Citi and the Mizuho USA Foundation for their support of this workshop. (To be added to our training announcement list, email nyctrainings@enterprisecommunity.org.
Enterprise will award grants of up to $25,000 per grantee to projects that meet the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and participate in a residential energy efficiency program through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Eligibility for this program has been expanded so that it is now open to projects participating in any component of the Multifamily Performance Program (MPP), including Existing Buildings, New Construction, and Low-rise Pilot. Projects receiving a grant under NYSERDA LEED for Affordable Housing are eligible to apply. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis until August 1, 2009. For more information, download the program brief or contact Bomee Jung.
The Institute for Professional and Executive Development, Inc. (IPED) and Enterprise will host “Green Homes and Sustainable Communities 2009: The Changing Landscape for Financing, Developing, and Managing Green Affordable Housing,” August 6-7, 2009 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, MA. Learn more and register now.
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