Message from Secretary Ray Skinner
“A crisis,” economist Paul Romer quipped recently, “is a terrible thing to
waste.”
Indeed, the national economic downturn and the troubled housing market that continued
to plague us in 2009 made our focus on preserving and protecting homeownership more
critical than ever. But 2009 also was a year of opportunity as the relentless economic
assault on so many families generated renewed commitment to housing-related issues
on both the national, state and local levels. Even as the national economic crisis
seemed to drag on and on, we were able to dramatically expand our services, thanks
to the leadership of President Obama on the national level and Governor Martin O’Malley
in Maryland.
The $193 million that Maryland received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act is helping us put housing back to work by creating or preserving jobs while
adding to our critically needed stock of affordable housing. A $4.5 million grant
from the MacArthur Foundation is enabling us to prepare for the influx of new workers
through the Base Realignment and Closure process by enabling us to expand affordable
housing near our military bases. We launched a number of innovative programs to
help Maryland families significantly reduce their energy costs in conjunction with
the president’s Weatherization Assistance Program and the governor’s Smart, Green
and Growing initiative. And we continued to help small businesses in targeted neighborhoods
get access to the capital they need to expand and grow.
Looking forward, we will continue to focus on providing counseling and support to
beleaguered homeowners, although I am optimistic we’ll see some moderation in the
state and national housing markets in upcoming months. We will continue to work
with our federal and state partners to integrate housing, transportation and energy
efficiency in sustainable communities. And the federal New Issue Bond program will
enable us to provide low interest mortgages to more than 1,300 new homeowners.
Whatever this new year brings, we remain committed to preserving and protecting
affordable housing for Maryland’s working families and revitalizing neighborhoods
by helping our state’s small businesses find the capital they need to expand and
grow.
Raymond Skinner
Secretary
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FEATURE STORY
Landing a Plane While They’re Building the Runway
Q and A with Pat Sylvester, Director of Multifamily
Housing
Through much of last year, financing of multifamily housing construction all but
came to a standstill in Maryland and across the country.
In response, the Obama administration invested more than $2.25 billion in American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to jumpstart affordable housing construction
while stimulating the economy by creating jobs across the construction and housing
management industry.
HUD released the final round of those funds last summer, instructing HFAs to put
the money to work as fast as possible. Maryland, which received $31.7 million through
TCAP and another $79.2 million through the Section 1602 Monetization program, quickly
put that money to work, awarding funding to more than two dozen projects in a few
short months, adding more than 2,200 affordable housing units and creating or preserving
more than 800 construction industry jobs.
For DHCD Director of Multifamily Housing Pat Sylvester and her 28-member team, the
monumental task of digesting the new federal regulations, processing applications
and making awards in a few short months was like “trying to land a plane while they’re
still building the runway.”
Q: Is this the busiest the agency’s ever been?
A: Yes, and maybe busy isn’t even the word for it. To give you an idea, in a typical
year we might close 20 to 25 projects; we closed almost that many in the past three
months, plus we have seven or eight more coming up in January. Everybody’s moving
– developers, builders, local governments. It’s been pretty hectic.
Q: But is all this activity having the desired effect?
A: I think so. Remember, we’re talking about projects that were stalled for lack
of financing and that probably would not have gotten done in today’s economic climate.
Through most of this year, we did zero deals. Nothing was moving. So, although it’s
very early in the game, I would say the program is doing what it’s supposed to do;
creating jobs today and affordable housing tomorrow.
Q: What do you see for 2010?
A: Well, we still have some ARRA projects to complete through the first quarter
of the year. Then, we’ll have about $90 million through the New Issue Bond Purchase
program, which will enable us to support some very favorable interest rates.
Q: How does the MEEHA program fit in this picture?
A: MEEHA stands for the Multifamily Energy Efficiency and Housing Affordability
program and we launched it in partnership with the Maryland Energy Administration
just this fall. Think of it as the multifamily equivalent of our Weatherization
Assistance Program. In this case, developers can get grants to improve the energy
efficiency of their projects. I’m actually pretty excited about the potential of
this program because I see a near future where energy efficiency is the norm in
new projects and where families will consider energy efficiency as a factor when
they’re deciding where to live.
Q: The main thing people want to know is whether the crisis is over. Is it?
A: I guess you could say we’ve made it through the night, but the storm is not over.
That’s why those partnerships that proved so important in helping us get moving
in 2009 will be just as important in 2010 – the bankers, developers, the tax credit
investors. I’d really like them to know how much we appreciate the fact they’re
still doing business in Maryland. And I’d like to think we were good partners, too.
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BREAKING NEWS
Anne Arundel County Affordable Housing Developments Receive Federal Tax Credit Assistance
Program Funding
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Dec. 30) – Secretary Skinner announced that two
affordable senior rental housing projects in Anne Arundel County will receive funding
through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Tax Credit Assistance
Program. Park View at Severna Park will provide 103 units of affordable senior housing.
Hammarlee House will provide 55 units of affordable senior housing in Glen Burnie,
addressing a critical need for affordable housing in a county impacted by the U.S.
Military’s Base Realignment And Closure activities in Maryland.
Learn More
New Developments Near Aberdeen Proving Grounds Increase Affordable Housing Options
in BRAC Communities
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Dec. 29) - Secretary Skinner announced financing
of the North Creek Run development in Cecil County and the Perryman Station project
in Harford County, providing much-needed affordable housing in an area expecting
an influx of working families through the Base Realignment and Closure process.
The North Creek Run project financing includes a Bank of America construction-to-permanent
mortgage of $2.1 million. DHCD provided $821,050 of Low Income Housing Tax Credits,
which raised equity of $5.4 million through PNC Bank. DHCD also provided $3 million
in Tax Credit Assistance Program loan funds and a $132,500 Maryland Energy Efficiency
and Housing Affordability Grant. Learn More
Affordable Housing Development for Seniors Gets Underway in Allegany County
FROSTBURG, MD (Dec. 28) – Secretary Skinner announced the beginning
of new construction for Braddock’s Greene, a development of 50 one and two-bedroom
units in Frostburg. The project, located on Route 736 and Braddock Street, is financed
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The units will be available
to individuals aged 62 years and older with incomes between 30 percent and 60 percent
of area median income or between $16,600 and $33, 240 for a two-person household.
Learn More
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Governor O’Malley Announces Community Investment Tax Credit Awards to 35 Nonprofit
Organizations
ANNAPOLIS, MD (Dec. 22) – Governor O’Malley announced the award
of $1 million in Maryland Community Investment Tax Credits to 35 non-profit organizations
located in communities throughout the state. Nonprofit awardees will market tax
credits to donors in return for $2 million in charitable donations. Over the past
13 years, the CITC Program, which is managed by DHCD, has leveraged more than $20.5
million in charitable contributions for nearly 300 Maryland nonprofit organizations.
The tax credits provide a donor with a state income tax credit equal to 50 percent
of their donation in addition to other state and federal charitable deductions.
Learn More
Affordable Housing Projects in Anne Arundel, Howard Counties are First in Maryland
to Receive Federal Tax Credit Assistance Program Funding
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Dec. 10) – Secretary Skinner announced that affordable
rental housing projects in Anne Arundel and Howard Counties are the first in the
state to benefit from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s
Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP). The Admiral Oaks Apartments project is the
acquisition and rehabilitation of eighteen 3-story garden apartment buildings located
on the west side of the city of Annapolis. The Sierra Woods project involves the
acquisition and rehabilitation of 160 units located in Columbia.
Learn More
DHCD Loans to Small Businesses in Baltimore and Gaithersburg Will Create or Preserve
93 Jobs
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Dec. 9) – Secretary Skinner announced that DHCD
has committed $650,000 in Neighborhood BusinessWorks program loans to two projects:
a restaurant in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore City and a mixed-use building
in Olde Towne Gaithersburg that will house a restaurant and offices for several
businesses. DHCD provided $400,000 in NBW assistance to Langermann’s Café, leveraging
$650,000 for the project. Langermann’s Café will be a moderately priced, 165-seat
bistro located at Can Company in the historic Canton neighborhood of Baltimore City.
The Café will create an estimated 85 new jobs. A four-story restaurant/office building
in Olde Towne Gaithersburg received $250,000 through NBW, helping the project leverage
over $2.25 million. The building will be home to the Slice of Olde Towne restaurant
and provide offices for a nonprofit organization, a title company, and a commercial
real estate brokerage. Eight new job positions will be created.
Learn More
Secretary Skinner to Lenders: You Must Do More to Open Access to Capital to Maryland’s
Small Businesses
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Dec. 4) – Secretary Skinner called upon lenders
to do more to provide the state’s small businesses greater access to capital, saying
healthy small businesses revitalize their communities, generate jobs and improve
lenders’ bottom line. Speaking before representatives of more than 100 banking institutions
at a breakfast at DHCD’s Crownsville headquarters, Secretary Skinner was joined
by Secretary Christian Johansson, of the Department of Business and Economic Development.
The meeting came as Governor Martin O’Malley outlined his economic agenda to strengthen
the state’s small businesses by improving access to credit, stimulate job creation
and pushing for a recovery tax credit in the upcoming General Assembly.
New Development Project to Provide More Affordable Housing and Jobs in Princess
Anne
PRINCESS ANNE, MD (Dec. 2) – Lt. Governor Anthony Brown announced
that construction has begun on Somerset Commons, a project financed through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will help create 72 construction jobs
in the region. This family residential community in Princess Anne will include the
development of 60 units within the two 3-story garden apartment style buildings.
The new two and three bedroom units will be available for families with incomes
between 50 percent and 60 percent of area median income (AMI) or within the range
of $27,700 to $33,240 for a two-person household.
Maryland Closes Financing for 36 Units of Affordable Housing in Garrett County
OAKLAND, MD (Dec. 2) – DHCD has committed over $2.3 million in
state loans and federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act financing for Liberty
Mews, a rental housing project that will create 36 affordable townhouse units in
the Town of Oakland. Sponsored by the Garrett County Community Action Committee,
Liberty Mews will be located adjacent to Liberty Square, a 30-unit elderly housing
development completed earlier this year, and its renters will have the opportunity
to become homeowners by purchasing their rental units after 15 years. Liberty Mews
residents who choose to purchase their units and become homeowners will receive
homeownership counseling and support from the Garrett County Community Action Committee,
helping prepare them to become educated, confident homeowners and ensuring that
their efforts to purchase and own these homes are successful and sustainable.
Deputy Secretary Snuggs Joins Lt. Governor for Listen and Learn Forum in Greenbelt
GREENBELT, MD (Dec. 2) – Deputy Secretary Clarence Snuggs joined
other agency heads at the Lt. Governor’s Listen and Learn Forum at Eleanor Roosevelt
High School in Greenbelt. The successful series of forums enable Lt. Governor Anthony
Brown and state officials to meet with community leaders to learn about their concerns
and answer questions about state policies and programs. DHCD typically participates,
along with the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, the Department of Transportation
and state and local educators. The forums provide DHCD an opportunity to share its
accomplishments with the community, particularly in the areas of foreclosure prevention,
increasing affordable housing opportunities in preparation of families through the
Base Realignment and Closure process and neighborhood revitalization.
Takoma Park Apartment Building is First in Maryland to Receive Funds Through the
Multifamily Energy Efficiency and Housing Affordability Project
TAKOMA PARK, MD (Dec. 1) – Renovation work has begun on a 21-unit
apartment building in Takoma Park, a project financed through the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act. The Gilbert Highlands redevelopment is the first in the state
to receive a grant under DHCD’s Multifamily Energy Efficiency and Housing Affordability
program, which aims to promote energy efficiency in affordable multifamily rental
housing. The project will result in desirable, energy efficient, affordable housing
for low to moderate income families while generating more than two dozen construction
jobs.
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CALENDAR
JANUARY 21, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In Spanish. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.
JANUARY 30, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In English. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 10 a.m to 12 P.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md
JANUARY 30, 2010
Mortgage Foreclosure Workshop
To provide information and legal assistance to the citizens of Maryland who are,
or will be, facing foreclosure. For more information contact: Ron Stanley or Gertrude
Stroud (301) 735-6111.
Host: First Baptist Church of Suitland
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: First Baptist Church of Suitland, 5400 Silver Hill Road,
Forestville, Md.
FEBRUARY 4, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In English. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.
FEBRUARY 13, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In Spanish. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop
To provide information and assistance to the citizens of Maryland who are, or will
be, facing foreclosure. For more information contact: Harry Spikes (410) 685-9199.
Host: Congressman Elijah Cummings
Time: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Woodlawn High School, 1801 Woodlawn Drive, Woodlawn,
Md.
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In English. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
First-Time Home Buyer Workshop
To provide information on how to make the dream of buying your own home a reality.
In English. For more information contact: (410) 342-3234.
Host: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: 3700 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.
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