The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition announces its eleventh 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, 2004.
Deadline For Application Submission
Seven (7) copies of the completed application must be submitted by close of business on March 25, 2005 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, 2005.
Awards Ceremony
The awards will be presented at a Capitol Hill ceremony on May 18, 2005. 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.
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.
The Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards are presented to the most outstanding tax credit projects selected through a nationwide competition by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. Cash awards of $5,000 will be presented to outstanding tax credit projects serving affordable housing needs of people in urban and rural areas, people with special needs, and senior citizens. The awards are to be used to bring additional services, facilities, or amenities into the project to benefit tenants.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
The credit was first enacted in 1986 and was made a permanent part of the tax code in 1993. It has been used to finance more than 1.3 million affordable apartments nationwide. Under the tax credit program, owners agree to develop rental housing with restricted rents for tenants of limited income, giving up rental income in return for a federal tax credit. State housing agencies allocate tax credits to these projects under a competitive ranking and selection process that varies from state to state. Demand for the scarce affordable housing tax credits far exceeds the amounts available. Apartments financed using the tax credit are built to the same standards as market-rate housing. They must be rented for 18 years or more to households earning no more than 60% of the area median income. The average income is often lower—37% of median according to the General Accounting Office. Tenants pay no more than 30% of 60% of the area median income as rent.
Herbert F. Collins
Collins Nickas & Company, LLC – Boston, MA
Charles L. Edson
Nixon Peabody LLP – Washington, DC
Richard H. Edson
AHD Capital Advisors, LLC – Bethesda, MD
Christine Hobbes
Freddie Mac – McLean, VA
Thomas A. Kasper
Kasper Mortgage Capital, LLC – Richmond, VA
Welcome
David Sebastian, President, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition
Introduction of the Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards
Charles Edson, Chair, Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards Committee
Awards Presentation
Metropolitan/Urban Housing
The Christopher
New York, New YorkMetropolitan/Urban Housing
St. George Hotel
Los Angeles, CaliforniaSeniors Housing
Clare Court
Baltimore, MarylandSpecial Needs Housing
Midland Commons
Portland, OregonRecognition of Honorable Mention
Certificate Recipients
Metropolitan/Urban – Bicentennial Square/Hotel Stockton/Victory Terrace
Rural Housing – Lovenlund Apartments/The Preservation at Orianna Ridge
Seniors Housing – Historic Jefferson Centre
Closing
METROPOLITAN/URBAN HOUSING
The Christopher
New York, New York
The Christopher is located at 202 West 24th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Developing affordable housing in this high cost and difficult-to-develop location would in and of itself be worthy of an award, but The Christopher goes much further. This 207-unit development is comprised of 147 units of permanent supportive housing for low-income and formerly homeless adults, 20 units for a work-related housing program designed to help working homeless adults attain permanent employement at living wages, and 40 units of transitional housing 18-24 year-olds who are "aging out" of foster care and are at risk of homelessness. Developed by Common Ground Community HDFC, this award-winning project partners with the Center for Urban Community Services, STRIVE and Good Shepherd Services to provide services that include counseling, recreational activities, money management, on-site psychiatry, heath care services and medication monitoring, relapse prevention services, assistance with daily living, substance abuse treatment, vocational counseling, job training, and crisis intervention. The Christopher received support from more than twenty individual and private foundations, as well as from federal, state and local government funding sources: the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York State Homeless Assistance Program, equity from low-income housing tax credits syndicated through MMA Financial, and a Federal Home Loan Bank of York Affordable Housing Program loan.
METROPOLITAN/URBAN HOUSING
St. George Hotel
Los Angeles, California
Another project developed in a particularly challenging area is The St. George Hotel, located in the Skid Row neighborhood of Los Angeles. Skid Row Housing Trust, founded in 1989 with the specific focus of homelessness, purchased and developed the former Bisbee Hotel, a six-story structure built in 1904 and 1905. During the 1920s, the hotel enjoyed the constant traffic of the theatre district, but with the migration to the suburbs the hotel was left to the elderly and disabled. Largely abandoned by the end of the century, the hotel was uninhabitable to even the poorest seniors, and tenancy was dominated by the mentally ill and those suffering from substance abuse. A complete renovation of the historic property resulted in 86 fully furnished single-room occupancy (SRO) and efficiencies and two manager units. Among the services offered to tenants are job training programs, computer learning center and classes, psychiatric treatment, recovery services, housing placement and case management services. The St. George was funded with equity from the sale of low-income housing tax credits, a loan from a Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles fund that provides financing for special needs projects, permanent financing from the Los Angeles Housing Department, and an Affordable Housing Program award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
SENOIR HOUSING
Clare Court
Baltimore, Maryland
Clare Court is a former convent located on a beautiful 10-acre hilltop site overlooking the City of Baltimore. Originally built in 1917 as an orphanage, school and convent by the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore (now the Sisters of Saint Francis of Assisi), over the years the needs of the community changed. The need for the orphanage declined, the building became a school for the developmentally disabled and while the sisters continued to live in the facility, they could no longer afford its upkeep. In the late 1990s, Homes for America, an Annapolis based nonprofit housing developer, agreed to work with a new nonprofit group, Communities of Care, and the Sisters to create a unique home for multi-generational use. Of Clare Court’s 30 units, the Sisters keep one wing as a living facility for 10 elderly sisters; half of the remaining households are headed by persons 62 or over. Thirty-eight children live at Clare Court, the majority of whom are a part of a foster parent adoption program. Families with children live in townhomes with private entrances, while seniors and persons with disabilities have their own shared entrance and community space within the historic building. There are numerous services and programs available to meet the needs of the tenants, including social workers on site, computer learning center, all purpose rooms, after school study and mentoring programs, wellness and exercise programs and assistance in building job skills. The State of Maryland allocated tax credits and provided other financial assistance, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta provided Affordable Housing Program Funding. Clare Court also received HOME funding and Section 8 project-based voucher support from the City of Baltimore and Anne Arundel County.
SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING
Midland Commons
Portland, Oregon
Located in Portland, Oregon, Midland Commons is a specially designed 46-unit apartment community that provides permanent affordable housing and supportive services to very low-income individuals (below 30% AMI) living with mental illness and/or substance abuse challenges. Midland Commons was developed by Cascadia Housing, whose mission is to create hope and opportunity for people with mental illness and addictions. To that end, some innovative features of this award-winning project include maximizing natural light, extensive common spaces, incorporated outdoor areas, both open and covered, and landscaped courtyards. Services offered to tenants include computer/internet workstations, community living room, shared kitchen and dining room, library/television room, on-site therapy, access to public transportation, case management, employment training, acute care services, treatment for concurrent mental health and addiction concerns, psychiatric medication, mental/physical health services and a therapeutic art program that takes residents from the "I can’t draw" stage to fully confident artists. Midland was financed with assistance from Multnomah County, the City of Portland, HOME funds, and equity generated by tax credits syndicated by the Enterprise Social Investment Corporation.
RURAL:
The Preservation at Orianna Ridge – Marquette, MI
Nominator:
Mark S. McDaniel
Great Lakes Capital Fund for Housing Lansing, MIDeveloper:
Marvin Veltkamp
Trilogy Development, Inc.
Kalamazoo, MIPRESENTERS:
Dave CampTWO CERTIFICATES TO BE PRESENTED,
BOTH TO Marvin Veltkamp:
- Marvin Veltkamp, Trilogy Development
- Earl P. Hawn, Jr., Alger Marquette Community Action Board
Lovenlund Apartments – St. Thomas, VI
Nominator:
Clifford F. Graham
Virgin Islands Finance Authority
St. Thomas, VIDeveloper:
Robert O. Jackson
Reliance Housing Foundation, Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FLPRESENTER:
Nancy JohnsonACCEPTING AWARD:
Clifford Graham
Deborah Blinderman
Both of Reliance Housing
TopSENIORS:
Clare Court – Baltimore, MD
Nominator:
Homes for America
Trudy McFallDeveloper:
Homes for America
Trudy McFall
Annapolis, MDPRESENTER:
CardinACCEPTING AWARD:
Trudy McFall
Nancy Rase
Sister Ellen Carr
Historic Jefferson Centre
Nominator:
Enterprise Social Investment Corp.
Sanjeev JaipuraiarDeveloper:
Lafayette Neighborhood Housing ServicesPRESENTER:
RANGELACCEPTING AWARD:
Patricia Stephenson
ED, Lafayette Housing
John Corey (Board Chair, LHS and Co-Developer)
Leo Stenz (Stenz Corp, Co-Developer)
SPECIAL NEEDS:
Midland Commons – Portland, OR
Nominator:
Neal Beroz, Cascadia Housing
Portland, ORDeveloper:
Cascadia Housing
Portland, ORPRESENTER:
NANCY JOHNSONACCEPTING AWARD:
Mary Rose Ojeda – Cascadia
Leslie Ford – Cascadia
METRO/URBAN
Bicentennial Square – Concord, NH
Nominator:
Christopher R. Miller
New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority
Bedford, NHDeveloper:
Ms. Maureen Beauregard
Families in Transition
Manchester, NHpresenter:
John Sununuaccepting award:
Maureen Beauregard
Families in Transition
Hotel Stockton – Stockton, CA
Nominator:
Lynn Wehrli
California Tax Credit
Allocation Committee
Sacramento, CADeveloper:
Cyrus Youssefi
Hotel Stockton Investors
Sacramento, CApresenter:
BECERRAaccepting award:
Kathy Ely
CTCAC
Victory Terrace – Bethesda, MD
Nominator:
John D. Spencer
Victory Housing, Inc.
Bethesda, MDDeveloper:
John D. Spencer
Victory Housing, Inc.
Bethesda, MDpresenter:
Cardinaccepting award:
John D. Spencer
Victory Housing
METRO/URBAN
St. George Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
Nominator:
Michael Alvidrez
Skid Row Housing Trust
Los Angeles, CADeveloper:
Michael Alvidrez
Skid Row Housing Trust
Los Angeles, CApossible presenter:
BECERRAaccepting award:
Cristian Ahumada
Skid Row Housing
The Christopher – New York, NY
Nominator:
Gerald J. Flannelly
Thomas F. Maxwell
MMA Financial, LL
Boston, MADeveloper:
Rosanne Haggerty
Common Ground Community HDFC
New York, NYpresenter:
RANGELaccepting award:
David Beer
Common Ground Community