Reports and Studies

Academy Homes I is a 202-unit mixed-income, mixed-race rental property located in the Jackson Square neighborhood of Boston's Roxbury district. While Roxbury's population has declined modestly (3.8 percent from 1990 to 2000), the Hispanic population has been growing steadily and Roxbury is now 63 percent Black and 24 percent Hispanic. Most (83 percent) of its residential properties are comprised of one, two and three family dwellings where the owner-occupancy rate is 61 percent. The median residential sales price in Roxbury reached $406,000 in 2003, surpassing Boston's $380,000 median sales price.

Academy Homes was built in the 1960s under HUD's 221(d)(3) program. It received upgrades to major building components (such as roofs and windows) in 2000 after the current ownership took over in 1998. It has three types of units: 43 percent are project-based Section 8; 33 percent are low income housing tax credit (LIHTC); and 24 percent are market rate. It is in a mixed-income, mixed-race urban neighborhood where residents are comfortable with economic and racial diversity. It is diagonally across the street from a rapid transit "T" station. Schools, a sizeable grocery store, shopping and restaurants are all within walking distance. It is one of several large multi-family complexes clustered in the area that total 2000 units. Complete info »

Auburn Court is a 137-unit mixed-income, mixed-race property in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The property is nearly evenly divided between market-rate (34%) and moderate-rate (16%) units and low-income (50%) units. The surrounding community is an increasingly gentrifying mixed-use neighborhood with housing, offices, MIT research facilities, a hotel, and retail shopping. The property was completed in two phases because of the slow housing market in the mid-1990s. The first phase was completed in 1996 (77 units) and the second phase was completed in 2000 (60 units). Complete info »

Cedar Beech and the two Elm Street properties make up 92 units of mixed-income, mixed-race multifamily housing in Manchester, New Hampshire. Almost half of the residents have incomes below 30 percent of area median income, while a quarter have incomes between 51 and 80 percent of median and a small number (8 percent) have incomes above 80 percent of area median income.

The properties were developed and are owned by Manchester Neighborhood Housing Services (MNHS) as part of that non-profit organization's mission to stabilize and revitalize city neighborhoods and to provide affordable housing. Cedar Beech was redeveloped and placed in service as a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and HOME property in 1994. The properties on Elm Street were placed in service in 2001 with subsidies from LIHTC, HOME, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program. Complete info »

Cedar Road is a 40-unit mixed income, mixed-race property in Vista, California. Vista is a fast growing city 35 miles north of San Diego. Its population grew 29 percent between 1990 and 2003 and almost all of that growth has been in the Hispanic population that now represents 41 percent of the city's population.

Cedar Road is divided between very-low (30 percent) and low-income (70 percent) households. Most of the very low-income households are part of a transitional housing program for homeless families that uses 10 of the 40 units.

Cedar Road was completed in 1996 as the first phase of a two-phase project. The second phase, Nettleton Road, contains 28 units and was completed in 1999. Although this study is about Cedar Road, the two phases are operated as one property and together encircle a central courtyard. The properties are located in a modest residential neighborhood of small single-family homes and conventional apartment complexes that are in fair condition. It is directly across from one of the best elementary schools in the City and is close to a busy thoroughfare of strip malls. It is the most attractive complex in the area. Complete info »

Parkview Terrace was built in 1998 and is a 92-unit mixed-income, mixed-race property in Poway, California. Poway has grown in just 30 years from a rural farming community with a trailer park image to a very desirable community of multi-million dollar homes with a renowned public school system. It is just 15 miles northeast of San Diego.

Although Parkview Terrace's initial tenant eligibility is capped at 50 percent of AMI, long resident tenure -- spurred by an exploding real estate market and plentiful employment -- finds 43 percent of households now at or above 60 percent of AMI. The immediate neighborhood, one of the lower income ones in the city, offers an extraordinary mix of modest residential, retail, municipal, recreational and educational opportunities, all within a few blocks. Complete info »

Spanish Oaks is a late 1960s garden apartment development in the Arlington section of Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built as market-rate rental housing, Spanish Oaks entered the inventory of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) after the original owner defaulted. It was sold in 1995 to a partnership of two local non-profits -- Jacksonville Housing Partnership and Families First -- under the RTC's Affordable Housing Program. The development has 194 units with between one and three bedrooms. The agreement with the RTC was that 20 percent of the units (40 units) would be reserved for households with incomes at or below 50 percent of area median, another 55 percent (107 units) could have occupants with incomes up to 80 percent of area median, and a quarter (47 units) could be rented to households at any income level at unrestricted, market rents. The actual income levels of the households in 2005 are more heavily weighted towards the low end: half the units are occupied by households with incomes below 50 percent of median including 38 percent that have incomes below 30 percent of median. Complete info »

Unmet demand for affordable rental housing in most U.S. housing markets represents an opportunity for nonprofit organizations. Despite the potential benefits available through affordable rental housing creation and preservation, nonprofits still need to carefully assess their internal and external environment to determine whether they are well suited to enter this business. This paper identifies and assesses the internal and external drivers that shape decisions made by organizations in this field and that are often critical to successful projects. These drivers were identified through a review of relevant literature, interviews and focus groups with leading policymakers and practitioners, and analysis of survey responses from NeighborWorks America organizations.

The most important factors considered in decisions to enter and remain in the affordable rental housing business are market conditions, organizational mission, and the contribution of a project to a nonprofit's financial bottom line. Findings also indicate that the state of many of the internal and external factors that affect organizations' decisions in this field are not static, but can be shifted in a more optimal direction. Strategies that describe how to create a better environment in which to conduct an affordable rental business are also offered in this paper and include partnerships and long-term planning. Suggestions are made for nonprofits already in or considering entering the affordable rental housing line of business; potential partners, both nonprofit and for-profit; and policymakers, funders and regulators of affordable rental housing. Complete info »

Resident participation has been an area of community development aimed at increasing involvement of tenants in housing development, management and community-building. The precise roles and mechanisms of resident participation are not well understood, however. This paper explores the role of resident participation and its interaction with other factors that drive community revitalization. By understanding the necessary conditions, factors and other variables that strengthen resident participation, public policies can help low-income populations manifest their power and make a difference in their communities. The research presented here (1) describes the challenges and benefits of resident participation; (2) identifies examples of residents successfully contributing to the development and management of their homes; (3) details the conditions necessary for success; and (4) addresses the issue of assessing effectiveness. For those seeking to encourage resident participation, the are three major challenges include time and money; limited options due to economics; and limited community capacity. Examples of successful resident participation are presented, such as the Demonstration Disposition in Boston -- one of the most notable examples of resident participation in development in the past 10 years. Building management has also been an arena for various levels and types of resident participation, and many community development corporations have developed creative ways of involving residents in community-building efforts. The interplay of external and internal factors together creates conditions for resident participation. This paper identifies four major factors: impetus, politics, resources and values, describing the internal and external resources affected by each. To connect these external and internal resources, bridging resources of trust, community organizing, strategic partnerships and organizational capacity are necessary. Community planning and education make up a noteworthy bridging resource that allows for the necessary learning process to take place. Community education and planning happen in three phases: building a foundation, teaching skills, and following through. While there is general support for resident participation in housing development, management and community-building, measuring its effectiveness has received limited research attention. This paper describes the effectiveness of resident participation looking at the individual, building and community levels. These testimonials will be strengthened if hard measures of resident participation are developed and used to study its effects. Complete info »

A Publication of NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks Community Building and Organizing Initiative. The NeighborWorks Community Organizing Pilot Program (COPP) was created by organizations within the NeighborWorks network to:

- Place organizing in a central position as a strategy for community development and neighborhood revitalization;

- Report to the broader community development field the significant value-added quality of community organizing to communities; and

- Systematize ways of reporting improvements beyond housing development and investment that are important to the life of the communities in which community development organizations operate.

The Community Organizing Pilot Program was both a program with specific objectives, and also an applied research project that explored the effects of organizing activities on the work of selected NeighborWorks organizations.

This report presents the work and accomplishments of COPP both as a program, and also as a project in applied research. Complete info »

Feedback from eight member organizations interviewed for this five-year report confirms the Multifamily Initiative is helping its members meet their missions, improve the lives of their residents, and grow as viable long-term owners of affordable housing. The overview of the initiative and the stories that follow demonstrate the accomplishments of the Initiative's member organizations over the last five years. Complete info »