7:19 AM
Julio Barreto
Thirteen nonprofits organizations and two housing authorities were among the entities identified as the top 50 affordable housing developers by the Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s annual listing of top owners and developers.
Two nonprofits, the National Community Renaissance and Volunteers of America, were listed in the top 10 at numbers 3 and 5 respectively. Two housing authorities, the San Antonio Housing Authority and the Philadelphia Housing Authority, were ranked as well. SAHA was ranked 13th and PHA was ranked 33. Overall, the magazine list 33 for profit firms, 13 nonprofits and two housing authorities among its top 50 developers.
A majority of the units developed by those in the top 50 are financed with low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). According to the magazine, each of the top 50 firms started, on average, 469 units while completing an average of 428. According to the magazine, the number of units started in 2008 dropped 23 percent from the previous year.
Among the other nonprofits listed were:
The Phipps House Group (12)
Mercy Housing Inc. (23)
The Community Builders, Inc. (26)
Common Ground (27)
Progressive Redevelopment, Inc. (28)
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. (29)
Southwest Housing Solutions Corp. (40)
Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition (43)
Jamboree Housing Corp. (47)
Resources for Community Development (48)
Abode Communities (50)
Henriquez Nominated to Head HUD’s Public Housing Office
Sandra B. Henriquez, Chief Executive Officer of the Boston Housing Authority, has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Henriquez has been the head of the Boston Housing Authority since 1996. She is the immediate past president of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA).
Henriquez’ selection adds another stellar person to the team at HUD. While she is highly respected within the public housing community and brings a tremendous amount of experience, leadership and expertise, there is concern the assets she brings to the office will be lost within the reality of the position. Here are a few issues which she must confront:
1. The retail aspect of the position. She will spend a considerable amount of time addressing the particular concerns of Members of Congress. This could detract her from spending a significant amount of time on policy and programmatic issues.
2. Dealing with the array of interest groups demanding her time. Her Boston experience will help but the pressure to placate the majority of these interest groups will be tremendous.
3. HUD as an entity is a bureaucracy unlike anything she has experienced in the past and. The Office of Public and Indian Housing is one department within the HUD beauacracy and is not high on the priority list. There will be an adjustment and pecking order she will have to live with.
4. The administration’s view on issues will be in direct conflict with issues she supported as a housing authority director. The administration’s support for the one-for-one replacement rule is a perfect example of an issue she opposed while an executive director. How she handles herself in this environment will determine her effectiveness and, to some degree, the credibility she has within the public housing community.
5. Her own expectations of what she can realistically accomplish versus what she was promised. She will be limited in the number of things she can change. She will have to determine quickly what she can accomplish and what she can’t. She must limit herself to one or two goals to accomplish while in office and be satisfied with those limited accomplishments.
6. Maintaining credibility within the public housing community. The combination of points four and five could determine how much of her reputation remains intact within the industry. Every housing authority director who has taken this position has seen their credibility damaged to some degree after spending time at HUD.
7. Avoiding the perception of a big agency, East Coast bias in her decision-making. There will be unrealistic expectations placed on her shoulders by those in the public housing industry and their Washington representatives. There will also be greater scrutiny of her actions by resident advocates and private landlords. She must remain open-minded to be effective.
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Two nonprofits, the National Community Renaissance and Volunteers of America, were listed in the top 10 at numbers 3 and 5 respectively. Two housing authorities, the San Antonio Housing Authority and the Philadelphia Housing Authority, were ranked as well. SAHA was ranked 13th and PHA was ranked 33. Overall, the magazine list 33 for profit firms, 13 nonprofits and two housing authorities among its top 50 developers.
A majority of the units developed by those in the top 50 are financed with low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). According to the magazine, each of the top 50 firms started, on average, 469 units while completing an average of 428. According to the magazine, the number of units started in 2008 dropped 23 percent from the previous year.
Among the other nonprofits listed were:
The Phipps House Group (12)
Mercy Housing Inc. (23)
The Community Builders, Inc. (26)
Common Ground (27)
Progressive Redevelopment, Inc. (28)
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. (29)
Southwest Housing Solutions Corp. (40)
Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition (43)
Jamboree Housing Corp. (47)
Resources for Community Development (48)
Abode Communities (50)
Henriquez Nominated to Head HUD’s Public Housing Office
Sandra B. Henriquez, Chief Executive Officer of the Boston Housing Authority, has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Henriquez has been the head of the Boston Housing Authority since 1996. She is the immediate past president of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA).
Henriquez’ selection adds another stellar person to the team at HUD. While she is highly respected within the public housing community and brings a tremendous amount of experience, leadership and expertise, there is concern the assets she brings to the office will be lost within the reality of the position. Here are a few issues which she must confront:
1. The retail aspect of the position. She will spend a considerable amount of time addressing the particular concerns of Members of Congress. This could detract her from spending a significant amount of time on policy and programmatic issues.
2. Dealing with the array of interest groups demanding her time. Her Boston experience will help but the pressure to placate the majority of these interest groups will be tremendous.
3. HUD as an entity is a bureaucracy unlike anything she has experienced in the past and. The Office of Public and Indian Housing is one department within the HUD beauacracy and is not high on the priority list. There will be an adjustment and pecking order she will have to live with.
4. The administration’s view on issues will be in direct conflict with issues she supported as a housing authority director. The administration’s support for the one-for-one replacement rule is a perfect example of an issue she opposed while an executive director. How she handles herself in this environment will determine her effectiveness and, to some degree, the credibility she has within the public housing community.
5. Her own expectations of what she can realistically accomplish versus what she was promised. She will be limited in the number of things she can change. She will have to determine quickly what she can accomplish and what she can’t. She must limit herself to one or two goals to accomplish while in office and be satisfied with those limited accomplishments.
6. Maintaining credibility within the public housing community. The combination of points four and five could determine how much of her reputation remains intact within the industry. Every housing authority director who has taken this position has seen their credibility damaged to some degree after spending time at HUD.
7. Avoiding the perception of a big agency, East Coast bias in her decision-making. There will be unrealistic expectations placed on her shoulders by those in the public housing industry and their Washington representatives. There will also be greater scrutiny of her actions by resident advocates and private landlords. She must remain open-minded to be effective.
Interesting Read
GOP Stimulus Foes Trying To Steer Money to Home States
By Carrie Dann
The National Journal
Stimulus steers billions to 'weatherizing' homes
By Drew Griffin and Scott Bronstein
CNN.com
Housing
NY Green Housing Hits DC Red Light
By David Seifman
New York Post
Community Development
Struggling to Rise in Suburbs Where Failing Means Fitting In
By Jason DeParle
The New York Times
Number of Black Americans in State Prisons for Drug Offenses Declines
By Darryl Fears
The Washington Post
Politics
Deciphering Early Clues On 2010
Democrats' success in the midterm elections hinges on the economy
By Charlie Cook
The National Journal
