Technical Assistance Program
In 2021, ULI made increasing housing attainability a global mission priority. This commitment leverages the ongoing work by the Terwilliger Center. Through housing-focused advisory and technical assistance panels, expanded research and thought leadership initiatives, and the development of a connected and engaged community of practice of residential development stakeholders, the Terwilliger Center will grow and deepen ULI’s housing work and impact.
Accelerating Housing Production Grants
Our grant program supports technical assistance panels (TAPs), Advisory Services Panels (ASPs), roundtables, workshops, and other education tools focused on delivering and/or maintaining housing units attainable to cities’ current and future residents. The Terwilliger Center partners with District Councils to advance efforts, bringing resources and expertise to enable housing production at the local level.
The Terwilliger Center’s participation in and support of this technical assistance program was made possible by the generous financial contribution of Thomas Toomey, Preston Butcher, and Ron Terwilliger.
Recent technical assistance panels have focused on strategies and models for overcoming barriers to housing production and supporting development to meet cities’ and jurisdictions’ housing needs.
In 2024, the Terwilliger Center has already partnered with:
Downtown Chula Vista, California
Third Avenue in Chula Vista is commercial corridor in Downtown Chula Vista that is navigating the challenge of drawing housing, tourism, and development to the area to sustain a thriving business community. The Downtown Chula Vista Association engaged ULI San Diego – Tijuana to host a TAP process to explore how to enhance Third Avenue to foster a livable, vibrant, and inclusive downtown that serves as a focal point for Chula Vista. Presentation | Report
El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, California
In September of 2023, the San Diego-Tijuana district council was approached by a previous TAP partner – the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association (ECBBIA). Since the completion of the previous TAP project in 2016, the district represented by the ECBBIA has changed dramatically and the client was interested in revisiting the 2016 report with updates based on current site conditions – notably, the significant increase of completed and in-process residential development. Presentation | Report
Nashville, Tennessee
Rapid population growth and increased frequency of extreme weather events have strained Nashville’s housing affordability and placed many Nashvillians at risk. To combat these dual issues, Metro Nashville’s Housing Division turned to ULI Nashville and the Terwilliger Center for Housing for a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) to help shape a city-wide strategy to increase the sustainability and resilience of the City’s current and future housing stock. Presentation | Report
City of Toronto, Canada
To help advance their work on preserving and enhancing housing affordability for Black Communities in Jane Finch, as well as other transit-adjacent neighborhoods, the Confronting Anti-Black Racism (CABR) unit of the City of Toronto and CP Planning engaged ULI Toronto and the Terwilliger Center on a Technical Assistance Panel. Presentation | Report
Tools
Boston/New England
Helping communities understand the tradeoffs and benefits in the development of housing is an essential component of increasing housing production. In partnership with Stantec and Play the City, ULI Boston is developing a simulation interactive game to incentivize housing production in the New England region. The simulation is similar to ULI’s UrbanPlan, but focuses specifically on the development of housing. This tool will assist local jurisdictions in their discussion about different housing typologies. The Terwilliger Center will support this effort with grant funding for the next three consecutive years.
City of San Antonio, Texas
Creating inclusive community engagement mechanisms is fundamental in Transit Oriented Development. The US Department of Transportation, through its new Thriving Communities Grant Program, aims to assist disadvantaged communities have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for federal aid and infrastructure projects. In 2023, the City of San Antonio received one of these grants. ULI San Antonio, in partnership with the Thriving Communities team, has designed a virtual visual housing typology survey to explore the housing opportunities along the east-west rapid transit line. The grant funded the use of the Hello Lamp Post, an AI digital assistant public survey engagement tool. The survey will help expose San Antonians to a range of housing types around future transportation hubs. ULI’s H2H Initiative provided grant funding in 2024 and The Terwilliger Center will support this effort in 2025. Report
2023
City of Atlanta, GA
The strategic plan for the Housing Authority of the City, Atlanta Housing, calls for the development of 5,000 new affordable homes, a significant portion of which will be on vacant and undeveloped land. Most of the vacant land lacks the infrastructure to support new development as proposed. Atlanta Housing asked ULI’s Advisory Services team to help provide solutions for developing these parcels. Presentation | Report
City of San Francisco: Reimagining Downtown San Francisco
Many cities in the US are creating plans to revitalize their downtowns after the impact of the pandemic and the changes in office space utilization due to remote work. The City of San Francisco invited ULI’s Advisory Services team to help them create tools to transform their financial district into a commercially vibrant and socially inclusive place that attracts diverse industries and employers and advances housing attainability. Presentation | Report
Expert Roundtable: Reimagining Community College Campuses to Meet Local Housing Needs – Coconino Community College, Page, AZ
Housing costs and insecurity significantly impact access to and success in higher education. In addition to students, more and more teachers, school staff, and members of the surrounding community cannot find housing that is affordable. This three-hour expert roundtable delivered strategies to increase the housing supply adjacent to the CCC Page campus. Summary
Rabun County, GA
The difficulty of providing workforce housing in a booming second-home community is not singular to Rabun. Communities all across the U.S. are facing similar challenges. The tourism industry largely drives the county’s economy. While this may sound like a great foundation for community success, one factor – housing – remains out of balance, and housing affordable to those working in Rabun’s backbone industries is incredibly scarce. Presentation | Report
2022
Steamboat Springs, CO
Mountain resort towns like Steamboat Springs have long struggled to provide enough housing that’s affordable. Yet in the wake of the pandemic, the situation is worsening: with full-time remote work here to stay, relocation to resort towns is a growing trend — and Steamboat Springs is no exception, resulting in a housing crisis as supply lags far behind demand. The Yampa Valley Housing Authority (YVHA) invited ULI’s Advisory Services team to assess the development plan for a 500-acre site, including the affordability mix, financials, strategy working with the private sector, as well as stewardship and governance. Presentation | Report
City of Sacramento, CA
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) developed the Green Means Go program to catalyze development in green zones that have capacity for infill development and show a reduction in vehicle miles traveled. This Advisory Services panel offer recommendations that would support the development of mixed-income, infill housing along these corridors with the goal of creating walkable, mixed-use communities in Folsom’s central business district (CBD) and Sacramento County’s North Watt Avenue corridor. Presentation | Report
Marysville and Yuba Cities, CA
Urban infill housing presents an opportunity to locate housing near existing amenities and infrastructure, but it is also difficult to finance and build. The cities of Yuba and Marysville have identified potential catalytic development sites and gap funding in their respective downtowns, which include affordable housing, medical offices, and commercial uses. Report
City of Austin, Texas
Cities across the United States are grappling with how to preserve housing affordability. Many cities have recognized the value of preserving market affordable housing as an important element in the affordability landscape. For Austin, many of these market affordable properties have an added historical element—many are over 50 years old— and represent the pride residents feel for the City.
Presentation | Report
City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
The city of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, prosperity and affordability requires balancing future development with the needs of existing residents to ensure housing affordability is sustainable and opportunities for building wealth are generated while displacement is avoided.
Presentation | Report
City of Boise, Idaho
Boise is at a crossroads. The city is booming, and growth is happening. Whether one wants it to happen or not, extreme changes in population patterns and in a changing climate will be a major factor in most community planning and real estate development decisions going forward over the coming decades. Presentation | Report
2021
Philadelphia, PA
Quality affordable housing is at risk in Philadelphia. According to a recent report issued by a joint partnership between the Division of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, and Stepwise Real Estate Analytics, Philadelphia is home to a significant number of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) rental units. This panel focuses on recommending strategies that can protect these units. Report
2019
Washington, D.C.
An advisory services panel made recommendations to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on increasing the supply of affordable housing in the Rock Creek West Planning District, which includes Ward 3, parts of Wards 2 and 4, and is one of the District of Columbia’s most affluent areas.
Report
North Charleston, SC
The Advisory Services Panel was invited to North Charleston in March 2019 to offer a fresh perspective on the future of 22-acre Charleston Naval Hospital site, adjacent parcels along Rivers Avenue, and the economic growth of several surrounding neighborhoods. Central to the panel’s charge is to offer the Sponsors a recommendation on whether to repurpose or demolish the Hospital structure, ahead of the planned demolition in May. Report
For more information and interest in joining our campaign, please contact:
Rosie Hepner at [email protected] and Fabiola Yurcisin at [email protected]