Member News

Pennrose and the Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) celebrated the redevelopment groundbreaking ceremony for Cromwell Hills and Emerald Villages in Chattanooga, TN. The comprehensive initiative will repair and upgrade 200 units at the Cromwell Hills apartment complex and redevelop 111 scattered-site units into the new Emerald Villages.

Conifer Realty recently announced a significant ongoing investment in its company by Belveron Partners. The capital infusion is the largest in a growing trend of affordable developers looking to diversify their ownership and ensure their companies endure.

The final episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate for 2019 features David Brickman, who was appointed CEO of Freddie Mac in July 2019. In this interview, Brickman dives deep about his leadership of Freddie Mac’s multifamily group and his rise within the organization based on his innovations, particularly in the area of securitization and housing affordability.

The comprehensive renovation of 303 affordable units on two nearby sites in Washington, DC by WinnCompanies was recently featured in a HUD User case study. The accumulation of wear and tear since the previous renovation more than 30 years ago, the perception of residents and neighbors that the developments were unsafe and a shortage of supportive services relative to need were all addressed by WinnCompanies as part of the rehabilitation.

Pennrose celebrated the grand opening of Pointe View at Aspen Hill in Silver Spring, Maryland. The new high-quality, mixed-income community delivers 120 units of affordable housing and on-site supportive services for seniors in Montgomery County.

The board of directors of Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) announced the appointment of Andrea Ponsor as president and chief executive officer. Ms. Ponsor joined SAHF in 2016 and has been serving as the interim president and CEO since September.

A grand opening celebration was held Tuesday, December 3, at Freedman Point, 311 E. Cawson Street, Hopewell, VA, to mark the opening of the new 68-unit affordable apartments within a mixed-use community. The $14.4 million community was developed by Woda Cooper Companies, Inc., Columbus, OH. Co-developer is Bay Aging,  Urbanna, VA. In addition to two- and three-bedroom apartments, the new property also brings a large commercial space to be developed for retail businesses or professional offices. This will complement many other nearby retail businesses, restaurants, service outlets, and community amenities including the adjacent Appomattox Regional Library.

Enterprise Community Partners and Wells Fargo are pleased to announce the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, a bold initiative designed to spark innovations that support housing affordability in the areas of construction, financing, and resident services and support. A collaboration presented by Enterprise Community Partners with generous financial support from Wells Fargo, the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge invites creative innovators to participate in a competitive application process with an opportunity to receive a grant and technical assistance to further scalable housing affordability solutions.

Pennrose and The Cloud Company celebrated the grand opening of Meriden Commons II, the second phase of the transit-oriented Meriden Commons development in downtown Meriden, Connecticut. Developed in partnership with the City of Meriden and the Meriden Housing Authority (MHA), the project follows the grand opening of Meriden Commons I in July 2018 and builds upon city efforts to transform the Meriden Green area with mixed-income housing, retail space, and improved accessibility via multimodal transportation.

CohnReznick’s Tax Credit Investment Services  team just released its annual report on the performance of properties financed with the Federal LIHTC. The data in this report provide detailed insights into the performance of LIHTC properties and the latest performance trends observed across the surveyed portfolio, consisting of more than 20,000 properties.

Regions Bank announced that Eric Speichinger joined Regions Affordable Housing’s Originations Group as vice president and relationship manager. Speichinger will work out of Regions’ Chicago office and will focus on sourcing and originating affordable housing transactions throughout the Midwest.

Woda Cooper Companies recently celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new 91-unit senior community on Atlanta’s BeltLine. Adair Court was made possible through the allocation of LIHTCs from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, as well as support from the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was investor and provided the construction loan. Summit Community Bank contributed permanent loan.