Developments in Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Washington, D.C., Denver and Baltimore Selected

For more information, contact:
Trisha Riggs, 202-624-7086; [email protected]
Robert Krueger, 202-624-7051, [email protected]

WASHINGTON (November 18, 2010) – Exemplary achievements in the development of workforce housing are being celebrated tonight by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. Four developments –33Comm in Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Capitol Quarter: Phase 1 in Washington, D.C.; Fire Clay Lofts in Denver; and Miller’s Court in Baltimore have been selected as the winners of the ULI Terwilliger Center’s Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Awards.

The projects will be honored this evening at the Center’s prestigious Jack Kemp Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. Held in memory of the late U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary and member of the U.S. Congress, the event is honoring Secretary Kemp’s dedication to housing as a national priority and those who are carrying on his legacy through their work. Keynote speaker HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and several former HUD secretaries — including gala co-chair Henry Cisneros and awards program chairman Steven Preston — will be among many nationally renowned housing and real estate experts at the event.

The Jack Kemp awards, bestowed annually by the Center, are given to workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including innovative financing, unique construction methodologies, strong public/private partnerships, and replicability to achieve workforce housing affordability. The four winning developments for 2010 were chosen from 29 submissions located throughout the United States.

“The workforce housing champions behind these developments have achieved what is often elusive in the best economic conditions and is even more difficult during a downturn. They are providing housing that is both affordable to moderate-income workers and located near employment hubs,” said Secretary Cisneros, now executive chairman of CityView in Los Angeles.

“These success stories show innovation and purpose on many levels. They provide important roadmaps for other communities in need of workforce housing,” said Secretary Preston, now president and chief executive officer of OAKLEAF Waste Management in East Hartford, Conn.

Each of the four winning projects have at least 25 percent of the units designated for families earning between 60 percent and 120 percent of the area median income (AMI); are located near employment centers and transportation hubs; and have utilized public capital subsidies for no more than 25 percent of the development costs. They were all bolstered by strong partnerships between the developers and the local municipalities.

“These developments are highly successful in making workforce housing a reality,” said ULI Terwilliger Center Founder J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman emeritus of Trammell Crow Residential in Dallas. “They are making a positive contribution to their communities, and are setting an example of what can be achieved with creativity and commitment.”

The Jack Kemp Models of Excellence Award winners:

• 33Comm (developed by B’nai B’rith Housing New England in Chestnut Hill, Mass.) is a development in Newton that contains 57 units of mixed-income condominium housing. The development consists of two buildings – the Fairways, a newly constructed building with 44 units, and the Carriage House, a rehabbed building containing 13 units. The workforce units are reserved for buyers making 80 percent or less of the AMI. The development was permitted under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40(b), also known as the comprehensive permit statute. The developer partnered with the city of Newton throughout the development process and was able to achieve workforce housing through gap funding from both the city and the state.
• Capitol Quarter: Phase 1 (developed by Capper Carrolsburg Ventures and EYA in Washington, D.C.) is part of the overall redevelopment of a 1940s public housing development that contained 700 subsidized rental apartments. Capitol Quarter is designed to blend in with the historic fabric of the Capitol Hill Community and is part of the revitalized neighborhood of “The Yards” which includes the Washington National’s baseball stadium. The workforce units are restricted to families earning between 50 to 115 percent of AMI. The City provided the land and infrastructure and the developer was able to sell market rate housing to offset the cost of providing new public rental apartments and affordable workforce housing units.
• Fire Clay Lofts (developed by Urban Ventures, LLC in Denver) is located on a former brick manufacturing site and covers two blocks in lower downtown Denver, bordering a Coors Field parking lot. Although several original buildings were demolished to allow new construction, the developer preserved an 1890 brick warehouse, which was renovated to create lofts. The developer agreed to provide 20 percent of the units to households at or below 80 percent of the average AMI. The project is highly accessible to public transit, adjacent to a bus route and located only three blocks from a future transit rail stop.
• Miller’s Court (developed by Seawall Development Company in Baltimore) is a mixed use renovation of an old brick canning factory located in an older section of Baltimore. This 75,000 square foot brick warehouse was converted into 40 loft-style apartments and 35,000 square feet of office space. The property is marketed to teachers and was expressly designed to provide their homes in the same jurisdiction as their teaching jobs. All rental units are occupied by teachers and the commercial space is leased to education related organizations, such as Teach for America and the Baltimore Urban Debate League. The project combined private capital with federal, state, and local funding programs to the adaptive reuse of an abandoned Victorian era industrial building using excellent design and lasting sustainability to create rental homes for teachers new to Baltimore.

In addition to the Award winners, the following developments were selected as finalists:

• 500 Hyacinth Place (developed by Brinshore Development in Highland Park, Ill.
• Renaissance Square (developed Enterprise/Mark Building Joint Venture, LLC in Baltimore)
• St. Aidan (developed by Planning Office for Urban Affairs in Brookline, Mass.)

The Jack Kemp Models of Excellence program is one of many successful activities the ULI Terwilliger Center has underway to keep the issue of workforce housing at the forefront, said ULI Chief Executive Officer Patrick Phillips. “Through the ULI Terwilliger Center, we are committed to raising awareness of the nation’s workforce housing shortage, exploring solutions to the problem, showcasing best practices, and ultimately, making a measurable increase in the workforce housing supply,” he said.

An awards program honoring workforce housing was established by the ULI Terwilliger Center in 2008. In memory of their late friend and colleague, members of the ULI Terwilliger Center National Advisory Board renamed the program in honor of Secretary Kemp for his tireless efforts to improve affordable housing opportunities for America’s working families. He was the author of the federal Enterprise Zones legislation to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation in urban America, and he was a strong proponent of expanding home ownership among the poor through resident management and ownership of public and subsidized housing.

About the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing
The ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing (uli.org/terwilligercenter) was established in 2007 with a $5 million endowment to ULI from former ULI Chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman of Trammell Crow Residential and chairman of the ULI Terwillliger Center. The mission of the Center is to act as a catalyst in increasing the availability of workforce housing by harnessing the power of the private sector.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (uli.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in sustaining and creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.