All posts by Thom Amdur

Thom joined National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) in 2004 and currently serves as its as Executive Vice-President and Executive Director. NH&RA is a national trade association and peer-network for affordable housing and tax credit developers and related professionals including: investors, lenders, public agencies and professional advisers. Thom directs the association’s day-to-day operations including legislative and regulatory advocacy, committee activities, conferences and events, publications, financial management and strategic planning.

Thom also serves as the Executive Director of the Tennessee Developers Council, a state-wide trade association for affordable housing developers and professionals active in Tennessee. In 2013 he spearheaded the launch of NH&RA’s Preservation through Energy Efficiency Project, a major educational initiative supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Thom also serves on the Board of Directors for International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology (iCAST) as well as the Advisory Board for its ResourceSmart program, a turn-key, cost-effective, green rehab provider for multifamily affordable and market-rate housing communities and nonprofit facilities.

Thom is a frequent speaker at affordable housing, sustainable development and tax credit industry events and has been published in a variety of industry journals including Tax Credit Advisor, Independent Banker, and the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credit Housing. Thom also serves as the Associate Publisher of Tax Credit Advisor, a monthly magazine for tax credit and affordable housing professionals and is an Executive Vice-President at Dworbell Inc., a boutique association management and communications firm in Washington, DC.

Thom was previously employed at a national lobbying firm focusing on financial services and technology issues. Prior to moving to Washington, Thom worked in media relations in the New York State Assembly and as a research assistant for New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Thom graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University with a double major in Political Science and History.

RAD Program Converts 100k Public Housing Units

| Federal / Agency News

NH&RA congratulates the US Department of Housing & Urban Development and on achieving an important milestone — the conversion and preservation of 100,000 public housing units through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program! HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Assistant Secretary for Housing Brian Montgomery, and Multifamily Office of Recapitalization Director Tom Davis were joined by the Housing Authority of the City of Austin and additional officials in Austin, Texas, to celebrate this momentous occasion.

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IRS Submits Opportunity Zone Regulation to OMB for Review

| Federal / Agency News

The Internal Revenue Services submitted regulatory guidance for the Qualified Opportunity Zone Program to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the White House Office Management of the Budget (OMB) on Wednesday September 12.  This proposed rule is expected to clarify several issues relating to the incentive.  The specifics of the proposed regulatory language is not yet public and will likely take at least ten days, if not longer for review and potential approval by OMB.  NH&RA will provide a summary of the analysis when it becomes available.

Council of Development Finance Agencies Issues Report on Opportunity Zones

| Community Development

The Council of Development Finance Agencies has issued a new report titled, “CDFA Opportunity Zones Report: State of the States.” Recognizing that Opportunity Zones have the potential to be a transformative economic development tool in distressed areas around the country, CDFA members are actively developing Opportunity Zones strategies to attract investment, identify additional development finance tools to work alongside Opportunity Fund investments, and to align local economic development priorities with their financing capacity. It is essential that state and local agencies recognize that not every Opportunity Zone will receive investment without their leadership. Every state, district, and territory should be engaging their local stakeholders to provide consistent information and clear education about Opportunity Zones.  This report details a survey of 41 states completed in July 2018 as partC of a coordinated technical assistance webinar provided to state agencies from CDFA and the Economic Innovation Group. It also includes several examples of state Opportunity Zones strategies actively in development.  Click here to download the report.