IN THIS ISSUE News- Rick Garcia, HUD's New Region VIII Director Upcoming Events - February 19 Breakfast Program and More Advocacy Update - Housing Colorado Hires New Director of Advocacy Programs What's Working Members in the News Housing Colorado Resources Community Events and News Our Members and Supporters HUD Names Rick Garcia New Region VIII Director
Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia today has
been named as HUD regional director for Colorado
and five other states. As the statewide voice for affordable housing, Housing
Colorado recommended Mr. Garcia for consideration as the HUD Region 8 Director
by the Obama administration. We expect with his experience on the ground, vision to see out-of-the-box solutions, and relational skills to effect change within a vast
and complex system will serve Colorado and the other states in Region 8 (which
also includes Montana, both Dakotas, Wyoming and Utah.)
Garcia will serve as HUD’s liaison to mayors, city managers, elected
representatives, state and local officials, congressional delegations,
stakeholders and customers and will be responsible for overseeing the delivery
of HUD programs and services to communities, and evaluate their efficiency and
effectiveness.
“This Administration is focused on addressing housing, transportation,
education and energy together, when we look to improve communities,” said
Donovan. “Rick Garcia understands and embraces the sustainable community
concept. When you combine that with his extensive work on the affordable
housing front and foreclosures, he became the ideal candidate for this
position.”
“I am honored to have been selected and appointed by President Obama to serve
as HUD’s regional director during this important time of economic challenge and
opportunity in our nation’s history,” Garcia said. “My understanding of western
cultures, land use, transportation, housing and community economic development
allows me to hit the ground running and lead the RockyMountain
region in achieving HUD’s national objectives.”
Friday, February 19th AM Session: 8:30-11am Meet the Leaders in Affordable Housing The
2010 Affordable Housing Power Breakfast Series Kickoff, hosted by the Franklin
L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management and Housing
Colorado!, featuring a panel presentation and discussion on the future of
Affordable Housing in the state.
Click here
for an agenda. University of Denver Campus Directions will be provided
with your registration confirmation.
Moderator: Susan Powers,
President, Urban Ventures Pat Coyle, Director, DOLA-Colorado Division of
Housing HUD Region VIII Representative TBD Cris
White, Interim Executive Director/COO, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
(CHFA) Jamie Spakow, Housing Programs Director, Colorado State Office, USDA/Rural Development
Prepaid HC Luncheon Tickets are
not valid for this program. Register
here. Download a registration form here. Click here
for table and event sponsorship
information. Cost: $35 per person, $30/NFP, ERER & Burns Counselor Board
Member, $15/RECM Students
PM Session: 1-4:30pm Mortgage Industry Town Hall Meeting Keynote
Speaker: David Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the
Federal Housing Administration (HUD) Hosted by Franklin L. Burns School of
Real Estate and Construction Management Click here
for an agenda.
2 hours of CE and CLE
offered for each session (application pending).
Thursday, March 18th Day Under the Dome
8am-3pm at the Capitol and nearby venues.
Continental breakfast, lunch and resource materials provided. Register by Feb. 18 and save $10/person for the full day. Register here
You can register and pay with a credit card by clicking here
Download an RSVP form here
Thursday, March 25th
Evening Networking Event
Hosted by Pillar Property Services - 10th Anniversary Celebration
A benefit for Housing Colorado! Sherman Street Events Center, 1717 Sherman St, Denver Additional details will be provided in the coming weeks.
Housing Colorado Hires New Director of Advocacy Programs
Sarah brings to Housing Colorado not only a deep
communications background but also first-hand experience in developing and
selling attainably-priced and sustainably-built multi-family housing through
her company Powerhousing® Real Estate and in partnership with Zocalo
Development. Founded synchronous with the ratification of Denver’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance,
Powerhousing became a go-to brokerage for many urban, multi-family housing
developers delivering deed-restricted workforce homes. Powerhousing has also
worked with Front Range resort-area developers
implementing employment-based housing covenants.
Sarah has achieved the designation of LEED® Accredited
Professional through the U.S. Green Building Council and was a development
partner in RiverClay Condominiums, the first LEED-certified condominium in the
Rocky Mountain Region. RiverClay achieved Silver-Level Certification and its
Solar Mortgage Program was selected by the Environmental Defense Fund as a top
business innovation of 2008.
Facilitating citizen-diplomacy tours for international
delegates traveling under the auspice of the U.S. Department of State, Sarah
has forged global connections in linking developers, planners, and social and
environmental scientists interested in urban development, sustainable and
energy-efficient construction, and workforce and affordable housing with their
Colorado cohorts.
Sarah has served as President of the Board of
Directors of Hope Communities, a not-for-profit provider and developer of
service-enriched housing for low-income individuals and families and she is a
graduate of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Denver program.
Sarah currently volunteers with GrowingColorado, connecting refugee youth with
gardening and entrepreneurial opportunities, and she performs with The
Spirituals Project Choir and Sankofa, two performance groups tasked with
sharing with all people the joy and power of “spirituals,” the dynamic
music legacy which is a gift from African Americans to the world. Sarah holds an
MFA from the University of Colorado and a BA in Cultural Criticism from University of Texas.
Sarah may reached at sarah@housingcolorado.org or 303.863.0126.
Sign on to Protect Colorado Communities Understanding that our efforts to preserve an
insufficient $2.25 million Housing Development Grants line is only a short-term
fix, Housing Colorado will continue to weigh in on longer-term fiscal reform
efforts.
This initiative is similar to an initiative that Doug Bruce advocated in 2000,
Amendment 21. That measure was defeated nearly 2-to-1 by Colorado voters. If
passed, this measure would cut an estimated $1.2
billion from a state budget that is already compromised, further slashing public education, health care,
community economic development, and community programs.
This initiative would hamstring current and future efforts
to address Colorado's
crumbling infrastructure.
Impacts:
The Bell Policy Center is analyzing Proposition 101 and its
companion measures, Amendments 61 and 60. On
Prop 101, to better identify the impact at the local level.
They have completed partial analyses for Alamosa, Conejos, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson
and Mesa counties.
Click here for completed
analysis, and please check back for updates.
To read the text of the proposed initiative, click
here.
The Department of
Energy (DOE) today announced new regulations that will help improve the energy
efficiency and livability of HUD, Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and USDA
assisted apartments by minimizing barriers to the participation of these homes
in the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). As outlined in a final
rule released today, DOE has concluded that hundreds of thousands of
subsidized apartments meet certain WAP eligibility requirements without the need
for further evaluation or verification by the state WAP administering agency or
local subgrantee. In doing so, DOE has significantly reduced the burden of
evaluating WAP applications for these multifamily properties.
The National
Housing Trust has prepared a summary of DOE's final rule. Click
here for the summary. The final
rule amends the eligibility provisions of the Weatherization Assistance
Program so that certain properties identified by HUD and USDA will be considered
automatically income eligible for the program without further evaluation and
verification.
$29.3 million in
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Funding to Benefit Denver
The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development has announced $29.3 million in
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding to benefit Denver. The
Denver Office of Economic Development will receive $18,994,444 and
Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. will receive $10,263,440 to address
residential foreclosure and to spur the revitalization of Denver
neighborhoods heavily impacted by foreclosure.
“The City’s foreclosure recovery efforts will see a
significant boost thanks to this increase in funding,” said Mayor John
Hickenlooper. “We look forward to using these new funds to build upon
the City’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program efforts that were
launched last year. We’re putting families back into foreclosed homes,
while supporting Denver’s neighborhoods and creating jobs.”
Provided through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, the new round of funding complements $9.6 million in
NSP funding that was awarded to Denver in 2009. Originally created
through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program is enabling Denver to acquire, redevelop and
resell foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of
abandonment and blight.
The Denver Office of Economic Development will use
the new round of funding in targeted areas across 12 neighborhoods to
address foreclosures and vacancies causing destabilization. The funding
enables Denver to return 325 abandoned or foreclosed properties back to
productive use to create affordable housing for households whose income
does not exceed 120 percent of the area median income, with 25 percent
of funds directed toward households at or below 50 percent of the area
median income. Denver will acquire and rehabilitate 245 abandoned or
foreclosed homes; land bank 15 properties; demolish 50 vacant
properties; and redevelop 35 vacant or demolished properties as
housing. Additionally, 195 households will receive loan assistance to
ensure that low- and moderate-income households will be able to
purchase affordable homes near public transit lines.
The Denver Housing Authority and Denver
Urban Renewal Authority teams include a wide range of partner agencies
with experience in rehabilitation and development, including Habitat
for Humanity, Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation, Colorado
Coalition for the Homeless, NEWSED, Northeast Denver Housing Center,
Del Norte and the Urban Land Conservancy.
The funds are to be used to help public
housing residents find jobs that “help them toward economic independence,”
according to the federal housing department.
The new HUD funding for this state includes:
• $236,150 to the Housing Authority of the
City and County
of Denver;
• $68,000, respectively, to the Fort Collins and Boulder
housing authorities; and
• $66,950 to the Adams CountyHousing
Authority.
Funds for the grants were provided by HUD’s
Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency Program, which allows housing
authorities to work directly with residents to help them get educational and
job-training opportunities at the local level. The program also assists with
job placement.
“Families who complete this program
accomplish the milestones that improve an individual’s quality of life — a new
job or professional certification,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a
statement. “Most importantly, these families get the courage and confidence to
succeed.”
The
next Census count begins April 1, 2010. Census
data is used to allocate $400 billion in federal funds each year. If the population is not counted accurately then out communities may not receive funds that matches we need to serve our citizens.
The
Colorado State Demography Office estimates that for every Denver
resident not counted in 2010, it could lose a minimum of $826 per
person each year in federal funds. In Colorado, almost 55,000 people
were undercounted in the 2000 Census. In Denver, it is estimated that
there were 9,000 undercounted residents in the 2000 Census, which
translates to an estimated loss of $7.4 million dollars each year for a
total loss in Denver of $74 million in federal dollars over 10 years.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - Housing Guide
Housing Colorado has
developed a guide to the ARRA funding resources highlighting new
programs and opportunities, nuances for existing programs, upcoming
deadlines and funding distribution processes. Our goal is to assist
you in assessing your organization's eligibility for funding,
connecting you to existing resources and alerting you to
opportunities for training and input.
ARRA Updates:
The Governor's
Energy Office (GEO) has posted 6 American Reinvestment and Recovery (ARRA) grant
applications. Grant topics include:
Energy
Efficiency and Training
Innovation Funding for
Energy Efficiency
LEED for Existing Buildings
Certification
Energy Efficiency in
Historic Buildings
New Energy Economic
Development
Compressed Natural Gas for
Vehicle Fuel Infrastructure
Click here for more information about these and
upcoming grants.
Statewide Weatherization Provider
The GEO will soon be releasing an RFA for a low-income weatherization
service provider to provide services
throughout the state. The statewide weatherization provider will be
responsible for identifying projects in needed areas throughout the state,
oversight, management, and subcontracting of the weatherization process, and
inspection of completed buildings. Projects may include waitlist overflow from
local agencies, individually heated multi-family buildings, or other low-income
housing projects.
The
above Weatherization RFAs will be released February 1, 2010 and there will be a
mandatory bidders meeting for this solicitation on February 5,
2010.
To be notified when the RFA is released, please sign up for the GEO E-newsletter
here:http://www.colorado.gov/energy/index.php?/about/newsletters/
Your best source for up to the
minute information is the administering agencies. Links to several electronic
alerts are listed here.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program I NSP I Updates: For more information, please contact
Alison O'Kelly, NSP Specialist at CDOH at alison.okelly@state.co.us, or
303-866-3409.
EVENTS:
CONFERENCES:
Camp Colorado - Habitat for Humanity of Colorado - May 5-8, 2010
AWARDS: NeighborWorks
- 2010-11 Achieving Excellence Class - Due March 15
NeighborWorks
is currently accepting applications from nonprofit leaders for the 2010-2011
Achieving Excellence class. The application deadline is March 15, 2010.
Applications, as well as additional program information, are available online
at www.nw.org/ae.
MetLife Foundation 2010 Community - Police Partnership Awards, Deadline February 26
MetLife Foundation is accepting applications for their 2010
Community-Police Partnership Awards. Applications are due February 26. Two
first-place awards of $25,000 each and four runner-up awards of $15,000 will
recognize exemplary collaboration between community groups and police that
yields crime reduction as well as economic development outcomes, such as real
estate development, business attraction and job growth. Eligible
applicants include community organizations, community development corporations,
police/sheriff's departments, community partnerships, Weed & Seed programs,
and collaboratives. Learn more.
FHLBank - Affordable Housing Program Funds- Due March 1
FHLBank will offer $22.4 million in Affordable
Housing Program funds, more than four times the amount awarded in 2009. Funding
for our Homeownership Set-aside Programs is triple the 2009 amount with $5.6
million available.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM (AHP)
Application Deadlines | Round One - March 1; Round Two – September 1
Amount Available | $22.4 million overall; $11.2 million per round; $450,000
maximum per application
Online Application Available | Round One – Early February; Round Two – Early
August
Application Awards | Round One – Late June; Round Two – Mid-December
For full detail on these changes, visit our AHP Web page.
CHFA LIHTC - Preliminary Applications Due March 1
For preliminary applications for Rounds 1 and 2 of 2010, please forward the
electronic versions of all preliminary applications and related documents (e.g.
the market study and comparison chart, Environmental Report, etc.), to the
following email address:
Please
keep in mind that the required electronic submissions for Round 1 must be
received on or before 5:00 pm MST, March 1st, 2010.
Questions related to
this message can be directed to Tasha Weaver at 303.297.7429 or tweaver@chfainfo.com
U.S. Department
of Justice (DOJ) Section 101 of the
Second Chance Act - Due March 4
Section 101 grants are given to state and local governments
to run adult and juvenile reentry demonstration projects with the aim of
decreasing recidivism and supporting a safe, successful transition back into
the community for ex-offenders. Successful applicants will generally have
extensive involvement from people throughout the community, including those
working on homelessness and housing. The deadline for these grant applications
is 8 p.m. ET on March 4. For more information on the solicitation, eligibility
requirements, and application materials, please click here.
RESEARCH:
Alliance Publishes Interactive Tool on HPRP Media
Stories
The Alliance has published a new database of
media stories about the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
(HPRP). The database takes the form of an interactive map, which can help providers
and policymakers understand how communities are using the funds. This
interactive tool also provides information on how HPRP is being received across
the nation. Most reports are hyperlinked to the full text of the media account.
Over the past year, all 50 states have had at least one media report of HPRP
funds. Stories have focused primarily on communities' receipt and use of funds,
as well as on the impact of the funds on nonprofit organizations and homeless
or at-risk individuals. A number of the stories detail innovative uses of HPRP
dollars, and many suggest that current funds may be insufficient to meet local
need. If local media in your community have published stories on HPRP that are
not flagged on the map, please let the Alliance
know by emailing can@naeh.org.
AARP: Preserving
Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing
Opportunities near Transit and the 50+ Population
AARP released a report titled Preserving
Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing
Opportunities near Transit and the 50+ Population. This
report examines the availability of federally subsidized apartments for older
adults in 20 metropolitan areas and their proximity to transit. A
significant number of the affordable homes identified within the study areas
are located within a quarter-mile of public transit, which is essential for
older adults to effectively retain their independence and to access amenities
and services without an automobile. Yet, the subsidies that keep more
than two-thirds of the apartment units affordable are slated to expire within
the next five years, jeopardizing the ongoing affordability of these
transit-accessible units. This report provides recommendations for policy
makers to preserve and expand affordable housing and transportation options for
older adults. Click
here to view the report and listen to the authors provide an overview of
the report findings during a previous Live at the Forum event.
RESIDENTS: Earned Income Tax Credit
Too many eligible families miss out because
they are not aware that they could benefit.
Recent IRS estimates suggest that
approximately 24,000 Colorado
workers may miss out on the credit annually, leaving as much as $38 million of
local economic stimulus on the table, and more if the "multiplier
effect" is considered.
Many families who do claim the credit lose
a significant sum to unnecessarily high transaction costs.
Large numbers of families who claim the EITC
pay $100 to $200 to commercial tax preparers. These preparers often encourage
"refund anticipation loans" (also know as instant refunds), which
cost families additional fees and interest rates as high as 800%. The number of
refund anticipation loans issued to EITC filers in Colorado continued to grow
over the years but finally showed a slight decline in 2002, according to the
Brookings Institution: 56,000 in 1999 (25.7%), 60,000 in 2000 (27.4%), 67,000
in 2001 (30.7%), 62,000 in 2002 (25.5%), 63,000 in 2003 (24.5%), 57,000 in 2004
(21.9%) and 53,000 in 2005 (20.1% of EITC filers).
Housing Colorado! is a statewide organization, composed of housing professionals engaged in the full spectrum of affordable housing production and preservation activities, including both rental and home ownership opportunities. Membership spans all sectors: cities; public housing authorities; financial agencies and institutions; for-profit and non-profit developers; realtors; and human service agencies. For more information, visit www.housingcolorado.org.
Our E-news reaches over 3000 housing professionals across the state. Help us showcase your organizations innovative ideas and model accomplishments for creating and preserving affordable housing by submitting an article. E-mail kirsten@housingcolorado.org with your submissions.
Photo Credits: Hope Communities (Sarah Maben), Habitat for Humanity of Colorado and Housing Colorado. If you have a photo you feel exemplifies quality affordable housing and/or services, please consider sharing it with Housing Colorado. We'll do our best to showcase our member's extraordinary accomplishments! Contact kirsten@housingcolorado.org.
Special Thanks to our Silver Sponsor: Affordable Housing Support Services
