Brochures are available at participating businesses and Main Street visitor centers or you can download a copy from www.mdhousing.org. A copy of the brochure must be presented to participating retailers to redeem offers.

Main Street Maryland towns include Annapolis, Bel Air, Berlin, Brunswick, Cambridge, Chestertown, Cumberland, Denton, Dundalk, Easton, Elkton, Frederick, Frostburg, Havre de Grace, Middletown, Mount Airy, Oakland, Princess Anne, Salisbury, Takoma Park, Taneytown, Thurmont and Westminster.

Created in 1998, Main Street Maryland is a comprehensive downtown revitalization program that is recognized nationally as a model for Smart Growth. The program strengthens the economic potential of Maryland's traditional main streets and neighborhoods. Selected communities have made a commitment to revitalization, and receive assistance to help increase private-sector small business investment, and improve the appearance and image of core business districts.

Annapolis Area Homeless to Benefit from $1.2 Million Shelter and Transitional Housing Facilities Grant

CROWNSVILLE, MD (Nov. 20) - Secretary Skinner announced construction of Light House providing 45 beds of emergency shelter, four units of supportive housing and a comprehensive array of support services for homeless adults and families in Annapolis. DHCD contributed more than $1.2 million through the Shelter and Transitional Housing Facilities Grant Program.

The project’s sponsor, Annapolis Area Ministries, Inc., has a long-standing track record of providing housing and services to the homeless in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. The Light House project, which will cost approximately $6.7 million, is the new construction of a three story elevator building that includes a day care, teaching kitchen, staff offices and rooms for counseling and community space. The shelter will have 15 beds for women, 30 beds for men and four apartments for homeless families. There will be ample spaces for off street parking places. The development is located within walking distance of the Annapolis Mall and the Annapolis Towne Center at Parole, an area served by public transportation provided by the City of Annapolis, which is convenient for clients.

The project which will be a “Green Building” design to maximize energy efficiency through geothermal heating/cooling, aims to obtain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold building certification. It is just one of many DHCD projects that incorporate Smart, Green & Growing components. Smart, Green & Growing is a multi-agency, statewide initiative launched by Governor Martin O’Malley to help Maryland achieve a more sustainable future by linking community revitalization, transportation improvements, economic development, smart growth and environmental restoration efforts. For more information, please log on to: http://www.green.maryland.gov

Community Services Center Opens in Cumberland with More Than $1.36 Million from DHCD

CUMBERLAND, MD (Nov. 6) – Secretary Skinner announced the grand opening of the Cumberland Community Center, one of 15 Smart Sites Department’s contribution of $1.36 million in the construction of the Cumberland Community Center. The new facility, which held a grand opening on Nov. 6, will house the Allegany County Human Resources Development Commission (HRDC), a Community Action Agency, providing services for children and families, housing and senior services.

The construction of the Cumberland Community Center is the first new development in the distressed Virginia Ave. corridor and will serve as a catalyst for that area’s efforts. The construction of the Cumberland Community Center is the first new development in the distressed Virginia Avenue corridor and will serve as a catalyst for that area’s efforts.

The project was one of 15 highlighted as "Smart Sites" by Governor O’Malley in June. The Smart Sites initiative highlights innovative State and local partnerships that catalyze economic development in appropriate areas throughout Maryland. Smart Sites is an element in Governor O’Malley’s Smart, Green & Growing initiative, which is a multi-agency, statewide effort aimed at helping Maryland achieve a more sustainable future by linking community revitalization, transportation improvements, economic development, smart growth and environmental restoration efforts. For more information, please log on to: http://www.green.maryland.gov

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Maryland Awards More Than $5.9 Million in Community Development Block Grants to Nine Municipalities and Seven Counties

CROWNSVILLE, MD (Nov. 5) – Secretary Skinner announced that DHCD has awarded more than $5.9 million in Community Development Block Grants to 22 projects around the state for fiscal year 2010. Projects include support of foreclosure prevention counseling in Washington County, installation of a fire sprinkler system in an apartment complex serving low- to moderate-income residents in St. Mary’s County, and funding to extend sewer services to 338 households in Dorchester County. The main goals of the CDBG program are to provide decent housing, foster a suitable living environment and to expand economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development oversees the program and Congress allocates funds to the program annually. Maryland's CDBG program is administered by the DHCD in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. The CDBG program provides federal funds in two ways. The Entitlement Program distributes funds to large metropolitan communities, also known as "entitlement" communities. Maryland entitlement jurisdictions include Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the cities of Annapolis, Baltimore, Cumberland, Frederick, Hagerstown and Salisbury. CDBG’s state program directs funding to states such as Maryland, which then distribute funds to non-entitlement counties, small cities and towns.

NEWS TICKER

Housing project breaks ground in Somerset – Dec. 3, Salisbury Daily Times

PRINCESS ANNE-- Construction started on a long-awaited apartment complex exclusively for working families, whose leasing eligibility will be based on income, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced Wednesday.

The building phase of the 60-unit Somerset Commons is expected to create an estimated 72 construction jobs in Princess Anne, according to state officials.

Somerset Commons adds a three-story complex in the 12000 block of Somerset Avenue off UMES Boulevard, where already there are sizable apartment communities slated for university students.

Project financing includes $8.4 million or more through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as federal stimulus money; $1.5 million in a DHCD loan; and $250,000 in a Community Development Block Grant loan from the town of Princess Anne.

Administration plans to press mortgage providers to accelerate help to struggling borrowers – Nov. 29, The Baltimore Sun

WASHINGTON (AP)-- The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said Saturday.

The administration will announce its expanded program on Monday, Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said.

"We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability," Reilly said. She said the goal was to increase the rate that troubled home loans were converted into new loans with lower monthly payments.

Industry officials said the new effort would include increased pressure on mortgage companies to accelerate loan modifications by highlighting firms that are lagging in that area.

The Treasury is also expected to announce that it will wait until the loan modifications are permanent before paying cash incentives to mortgage companies that lower loan payments.

Senior housing project secures last-minute funding – Nov. 26, Gazette Newspapers

Developer Sebastian Fainbraun is proud of the new affordable housing development for senior citizens he completed this summer in Marlton, but if asked to do it again, he would probably say no.

The recent economic collapse constricted one of the main arteries of funding for many affordable housing projects — federal tax credits — which Fainbraun said left his Gaithersburg-based development company, SUR Developers and Builders Inc., more than $1 million short of the financing he needed for The Lodge at Marlton.

The Prince George's County Council voted on Nov. 17 to reprogram $1.3 million in unused federal funding to help SUR fill the funding gap. Fainbraun said it should be enough to complete financing for the 102-unit development, located next to the Marlton Plaza shopping center on Crain Highway.

But he warned that small developers may be less willing to take on affordable housing projects in the future if the tax credit market remains unstable.

U.S. to aid some local mortgage programs – Nov. 17, The Washington Post

A Treasury Department program aimed at propping up local housing finance agencies will help inject $29 billion into these groups over the next year, according to government data scheduled to be released Tuesday.

The program focuses on state and local housing finance agencies, which provide loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers and have struggled in the past year as investors shied away from buying their debt. Under the program, Treasury, along with mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will buy bonds used by housing finance agencies to fund mortgages.

Many of the state agencies received less than they had hoped for under the program. Overall, the program will cover $18.5 billion of the $22 billion in bonds that local agencies sought to sell through the program. Another $10.5 billion in support will be provided to these agencies under a separate temporary liquidity program. The allocations to local agencies were based on the value of bonds previously sold by the agencies, according to Treasury.

In Maryland, three local agencies requested help through the program. The largest allocation will go to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, which requested that $350 million of its bonds be purchased under the program. That was scaled back to $246 million.

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CALENDAR

DECEMBER 9, 2009

Foreclosure Solutions Workshop

To provide information and legal assistance to the citizens of Maryland who are, or will be facing foreclosure. Registration is required for legal counseling. Call 410 887-5969 for more information.

Host: We Are Family CDC

Time: 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Location: Lansdowne Library, 500 Third Ave., Lansdowne, Md.

JANUARY 8, 2010

11th Annual Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition

Governor Martin O’Malley and Secretary Raymond Skinner are among the speakers at this annual event providing MAHC members up-to-date information on housing programs and policies. Call (410) 895-7273.

Host: MAHC

Time: 8 a.m to 11 a.m.

Location: Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards, 110 South Eutaw St., Baltimore, Md.

JANUARY 10, 2010

Foreclosure Solutions Workshop

To provide information and legal assistance to the citizens of Maryland who are or will be facing foreclosure. Registration is required for legal counseling. Call (410) 466-1990.

Host: Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc

Time: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location: Park Hghts. Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, Md.

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