For more information, contact: Trish Riggs, 202-624-7086; [email protected]

WASHINGTON (April 28, 2017)—The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Housing has announced the finalists for this year’s Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award, which honors exemplary developments that ensure housing affordability for people with a range of incomes.

The award recognizes efforts by the development community to increase the supply of housing that is affordable to households earning less than 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). Developments competing for the Kemp Award may be fully affordable, with all units designated for low-to-moderate income residents; or they may contain a mix of affordable units and market-rate units. The winner will be announced during the Terwilliger Center’s Housing Opportunity Conference, set for September 10-11 in New Orleans.

The 2017 Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award finalists are:

• A-Mill Artist Lofts, Minneapolis, Minnesota: The A-Mill Artist Lofts provides affordable rental housing in a development that has preserved a historic landmark (Pillsbury A-Mill), reusing existing building elements to provide sustainable renewable energy while also fostering creative ideas for the residents with unique live-work spaces, amenities and community rooms. The building has diversified the surrounding community, which also offers residents a vibrant waterfront.
• Casitas de Colores, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Casitas de Colores offers affordable housing specifically designed for families near to the city’s multi-modal transportation center as well as walkable access to jobs and recreational activities. The development’s sustainable design features have earned Casitas de Colores a LEED Platinum rating. The development has supported downtown revitalization, and promotes resident well-being and community interaction.
• Hahne & Co., Newark, New Jersey: In 2015, public and private partners crafted a plan to transform the vacant Hahne & Co. department store into a thriving, modern residential and retail community. A public-private partnership led to the rehabilitation of the 400,000 square-foot building and construction of a 120,000-square foot, nine-story addition. This redevelopment has played a central role in the economic revitalization of downtown Newark. The now completed mixed-use development offers new housing, retail, jobs and educational opportunities near transit.
• Mosaic on the Riverway, Boston, Massachusetts: Mosaic on the Riverway offers a mixed-income and mixed-tenure development near jobs and addresses a childcare shortage through a 9,000-square foot early childhood education center located on the ground floor. This project embodies the spirit of Boston’s mayor Marty Walsh’s policy to offer housing to residents in all income categories.
• Perris Station Senior Apt Homes, Perris, California: Perris Station Senior Apartment Homes replaced a blighted property, fulfilling the city’s goal of adding high-quality, sustainable housing that is affordable to low-income seniors, and providing space for retail/office uses. The development is a model for offering amenity-rich living for active seniors 55+ years of age as well as resource-efficient and “green” design features.
• Veo, Carson, California: Veo serves as a mixed-income, mixed-use walkable community of for-sale townhomes sized specifically for families. Street-level retail has rejuvenated the area by enhancing the streetscape with outdoor dining and other improvements.
• Wildflower Terrace, Austin, Texas: Wildflower Terrace is a mixed-income apartment community for ages 55 and over, which is located within the 700-acre Mueller Redevelopment community in Austin. The development includes a community activity room with a covered terrace, movie theater, fitness center, art studio, library, laundry facilities, business center, game room, billiards room, and an outdoor courtyard with access to greenways and trails, swimming pools, parks, shopping and convenient public transportation.

“Through the Kemp Award, we are raising awareness of the critical role that affordable and workforce housing play in creating successful communities,” said Terwilliger Center Executive Director Stockton Williams. “These are the types of real estate projects that are often the hardest to pull together, but at the same time, the most inspiring to complete. The seven finalists for this year’s award show that affordable and workforce housing is achievable in a wide range of markets, providing economic and social benefits that extend far beyond the developments.”

ULI established the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award in 2008, naming the award in memory of Jack Kemp, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a Terwilliger Center national advisory board member. The award is given annually to affordable and workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including affordability, innovative financing and building technologies, proximity to employment centers and transportation hubs, quality of design, involvement of public/private partnerships, and replicability of the development, among other criteria.

The finalists were selected by a jury of nationally renowned housing experts who judged submissions according to each project’s ability to meet affordable and workforce housing needs in their communities. This year’s Jack Kemp Award jury members are Victoria Davis, president, Urban Atlantic; Hal Ferris, principal, Spectrum Development; Gadi Kaufmann, managing director and chief executive officer, RCLCO; Alazne Solis, president and chief executive officer, Make Room USA; Margaret Wylde, chief executive officer, Pro Matura Group; and J. Ronald Terwilliger, founder of the Terwilliger Center and a former ULI chairman.

NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: Courtesy images of the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award finalists are provided by ULI for use by members of the press upon request. For more details on the awards and previous winners, visit the Jack Kemp Awards webpage.

About the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing
The ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing conducts research, performs analysis, provides expert advice, and develops best practice recommendations that reflect the residential land use and development priorities of ULI members in all residential product types, with special attention to workforce and affordable housing. The center was established in 2007 with a gift from longtime member and former ULI chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information, visit uli.org  or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.