Articles Archives

It has been more than a century since Henry Ford figured out that the best way to produce automobiles was on assembly lines in huge factories, and now the industry is investing billions of dollars in developing technologies for autonomous vehicles.

Mobile homes have long been stigmatized in America. During my recent drive along U.S. route 460, it was easy to see why. Stretching through the heart of Appalachia—eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia—I saw along the mountain hollow highway the poorest version of this housing type.

Offsite construction is generating a lot of buzz on how it can transform affordable and workforce housing. But some are dreaming even bigger. Could OS create a totally private tax credit market, without the need for public money?

Rick Holliday and his colleagues at Factory_OS aren’t very ambitious. They just want to change the way housing is built in this country.

While reading on a recent flight back to Washington, I was really moved by two feature articles that together put into context how far we have come as a country in alleviating poverty – and how far we still have to go.

” I grew up in a family of ten in the Kennedy era. My dad, who was in construction, always said to me, ‘You need to do something good for society.’”

” I came of age during Vietnam and the Civil Rights struggle, thinking about how I could do something of social value,” Lyndel J. “Joe” Wishcamper told Tax Credit Advisor in 2015. “I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to go into affordable housing; that it draws on my skill sets. And when I hire people, I look for those same values: passion not only for the business, but for the work.”

For 24 years, Albert Rex has been a key player in America’s historic preservation movement.
As a consultant, he has guided developers, lenders, investors and others through the complex process of getting projects approved for Federal and State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits (HTC).

The acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing (acquisition/rehab) may appear like a recent concept as many of these projects are nearing the end of their affordable compliance period, but it is a well-used development strategy.

Many polarities have been drawn in the NIMBY vs. YIMBY debate over whether or not to build more housing. It’s seen as a battle between rich and poor, homeowners and renters, white people and ethnic minorities and those with suburban versus urban mindsets.

In a surprise move, news reports indicate President Trump is about to announce a new effort    to address homelessness in California.

Each year since 2004, National Housing & Rehabilitation Association has bestowed its Affordable Housing Vision Award to affordable housing and community development leaders who have made significant and valuable contributions to the field and demonstrated years of leadership, commitment and imagination.