The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition announces its eighth annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards. These awards will be presented to the most outstanding low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects in each of four categories. Each award will be in the amount of $5,000 to be used to bring additional services, facilities, or amenities into the project to benefit tenants.
Category of Awards
Category I: Project located in a metropolitan area (minimum population of 50,000 or Standard Metropolitan Area-SMA)
Category II: Project located in rural area (maximum population of 50,000)
Category III: "Special Needs" Housing – without regard to project location
Category IV: Senior Housing
Note: If any of the four categories does not produce a winning project, the Coalition reserves the right to name two winners in one of the other three categories.
Criteria For Awards
Projects will be judged on the following criteria:
- Location of project in particularly difficult areas to develop, such as inner city or remote rural areas.
- Services provided to the tenant in addition to housing, i.e. assisted living services in a seniors project, computer learning centers.
- Any program to encourage greater tenant self-sufficiency such as job training programs.
- Unique design features, special aesthetic features, or unique tenant service facilities such as social rooms, health rooms, dining facilities.
- Extraordinary community-wide support for the establishment of the project.
Projects must have been placed in service on or after January 1, 2001.
Completed applications must be submitted by close of business on March 29, 2002 to:
Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition
401 9th Street, NW – Suite 900
Washington, DC 20004
Attn.: Linda D. Kirk, Executive Director
Nominations
Nominations may be made by state housing credit agencies, governmental bodies, national or local non-profits, or project owners.
Narrative Statement and Other Requirements
Applications should include a narrative statement, no more than five double-spaced pages, setting forth how the projects meets one or more of the criteria set forth in the above announcement.
Applicants must submit the approved Form 8609 for the project and the cost certification submitted to the credit agency. A C of O or certificate of completion will be accepted for those properties that have not received their Form 8609 by the application deadline.
Applicants are encouraged to submit pictures of the project, project plans, local press notices, or any other materials deemed relevant. The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition reserves the right to keep any videotape submissions in its videotape collection and make any such tapes available to public viewing
Judging
The Coalition will create a five-member judging panel from representatives of various sectors of the housing community who will evaluate the applications against the above criteria. Winners of awards will be announced in April, 2002.
Awards Ceremony
The awards will be presented at a Capitol Hill ceremony in May, 2002. The Coalition will invite concerned members of Congress including those from the area in which the project is located, their staff, and members of the housing community to this luncheon, as well as other leaders of the housing community.
For further information, contact Linda D. Kirk at (202) 585-8739.
Other Materials
Attach a narrative statement, no more than five double-spaced pages, setting forth how the projects meets one or more of the criteria set forth in the award announcement. Applicants must submit the approved Form 8609 for the project and the cost certification submitted to the credit agency.
Applicants are encouraged to submit pictures of the project, project plans, local press notices, or any other materials deemed relevant.
Return by March 29, 2002 to:
Linda D. Kirk, Executive Director
Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition
401 9th Street, N.W. – Suite 900
Washington, DC 20004
BACKGROUND OF THE COALITION
Developers, syndicators, non-profits, and others concerned with the low-income housing tax credit founded the Coalition in 1988 with the primary goal of achieving permanent extension of the program. From that time until the credit was permanently extended in 1993, the Coalition worked tirelessly to achieve that end by taking a leading role in coordinating the efforts of many concerned groups and individuals, both on Capitol Hill and throughout the country.
The Coalition is a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws of the District of Columbia and governed by an elected Board of Directors. It is represented in Washington by Richard S. Goldstein of the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP, who has taken a leading role in all of the legislation concerning the low-income housing tax credit. The Coalition is made up of the leading LIHTC syndicators and lenders as well as developers, institutional investors, lenders, nonprofits, and allied professionals (accountants, lawyers, etc.).
The Coalition keeps its members informed through the Preserver, a newsletter published monthly, and faxed news releases, as necessary.
COALITION’S CURRENT ROLE
Since the release of the 1996 Budget Reconciliation proposal to sunset the low-income housing tax credit, the Coalition played a major role in the successful effort to remove the sunset provision in order to keep the credit permanent. On an ongoing basis, the Coalition:
- Represents tax credit participants before Congress in seeking needed legislative changes to the program.
- Represents the interests of the tax credit community before groups which effectively have regulatory control over the program, including the Treasury, IRS, FASB, and the National Council of State Housing Agencies.
- Undertakes a major public information campaign to make widely known the success of the tax credit program to house low-income Americans. As a key part of this effort, the Coalition presents the Annual Tax Credit Excellence Awards to honor outstanding communities developed or rehabilitated using the federal low-income housing tax credit program.
- Educates the tax credit community as to the need for the highest ethical and business standards in all aspects of the program; the Coalition has adopted Standards of Professional Responsibility to which all members must adhere. Although the Coalition cannot act as the police for tax credit participants, Coalition members are expected to live up to the highest standards of fair dealing and sensitivity to the concerns of the low-income housing community.
Seniors, Disabled and Low Income Families Are Real Winners of Trade Group’s Annual Awards
Charles L. Edson Awards Celebrate Tax Credit Achievement for Eighth Year on Capitol Hill.
Washington, DC – May 14, 2002 – Long before the 8Th annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards were to be bestowed this May, the winners had been clearly identified. They are the seniors citizens, persons with disabilities and special needs, and low income families both in urban and rural areas who gained housing that addressed their needs thanks to the Federal Housing Tax Credit Program.
Since 1988, members of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition have built more than 1,000,000 rental housing units targeted to individuals and families earning well below the area median income. In 2001 alone, Coalition members were responsible for creating over 50,000 units of affordable housing.
"The goal of the Awards is to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements that have resulted from this Federal housing program while promoting public awareness of the positive impact quality affordable housing has on residents and communities," said Linda Cargill, President of the Coalition.
Winners in this year’s competition are:
- Anthony Square, located in Rochester, New York in the Metropolitan/Urban category;
- Pickerel Park Townhomes, located in Albert Lea, Minnesota in the Rural Category;and
- Harbor House in Newport, Rhode Island in the Seniors Housing category.
- The Special Needs category produced two winners, who split the $5000 cash award:
- Barrier Free Housing in Gering, Nebraska and
- Project Freedom at Hamilton in Robbinsville, New Jersey.
Three additional outstanding projects were awarded honorable mentions:
- Kapolei Ho’olimalima in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawai; in the Metro Urban category,
- Primrose Oaks in Dallas, Texas and in the Seniors Housing category,
- Sunset Crown II – Beatrice Sunset Estates in the Rural category
With the applications, sponsors submit personal testimonials from residents that illustrate the significant role a stable housing environment plays in improving the lives of Americans of low and moderate income means and the neighborhoods where they live.
Teressa Shepard, resident of the renovated urban winner, Anthony Square, says the area is much different now. "This place is beautiful. You can sleep, and there’s no [dudes in the driveway] partying like they did before. It is quiet. It is nice. People are more friendly."
Resident of special needs winner, Barrier Free Housing, Karen Terrell feels much the same about her new home, designed specifically for persons with physical disabilities, "It’s like a dream come true."
"Each year we are moved by the heart felt praise all of the developments receive from the residents, which underscores that this program is about personal achievement and quality of life," added Ms. Cargill.
This year the Tax Credit Excellence Awards were renamed in honor of Charles L. Edson. The distinguished housing career of long-time Coalition Counsel Charles L. Edson spans five decades, focusing on government-assisted housing, federal legislative matters, and the low income housing tax credit. Although retired from the practice of law, Chuck maintains active participation in the housing field through his continuing work as Co- editor in chief of the Housing and Development Reporter, guest lecturer to numerous professional organizations, and as adjunct professor of housing law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Chuck served as Coalition Counsel from the Coalition’s inception in 1988 until February, 2002.
For more information about the Coalition, the program or to hear greater detail about the developments and their residents, please contact Linda Kirk.
The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition is a non-profit group of developers, syndicators, lenders, public agencies, non-profit groups and others concerned with the low-income housing tax credit. The Coalition, based in Washington, DC, is a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws of the District of Columbia and is governed by an elected Board of Directors. The Coalition was founded in 1988 with the primary goal of achieving permanent extension of the low-income housing tax credit program.