NAHMA Announces First Vanguard Award Winners
Affordable Housing Providers Honored in Four Categories

June 7, 2010, Alexandria, VA – The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) is pleased to announce the winners of its first annual Affordable Housing Vanguard Awards, which were created to recognize newly developed affordable multifamily housing communities that showcase quality design and financing through their development.

The Vanguard Awards celebrate success in the multifamily affordable housing industry by recognizing and benchmarking new, quality, multifamily affordable housing development. The award–

There are five winners in the four categories of Vanguard Awards (details follow and can also be found on NAHMA’s website at www.nahma.org/content/vanguard.html). The winners are:

Vanguard Award for New Construction:

Vanguard Award for Major Rehabilitation of an Existing Rental Housing Community:

Vanguard Award for Major Rehabilitation of a Non-Housing Structure into Affordable Rental Housing:

Vanguard Award for Major Rehabilitation of a Historic Structure into Affordable Rental Housing:

The judges of this year’s Vanguard Awards were NAHMA owner/developer members from across the country. They included Jim McGrath, President, PRD Management, Pennsauken, NJ; Raquel Guglielmetti, Executive Vice President, Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp., Boise, ID; and Carole Glodney, President, G&K Management Co., Culver City, CA.

A brief summary of the award-winning developments follows.

Gratiot Woods Co-op was built by CSI Support and Development Services of Warren, MI, in partnership with the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance and the City of Detroit. The 62-unit Gratiot Woods Co-op is a beautiful new anchor in a long-neglected but struggling-to-revitalize neighborhood. The project was funded through more than $6.4 million in HUD Section 202 funds, a $400,000 HUD predevelopment grant, and a $60,000 grant from the United Way to increase energy efficiency. Building Gratiot Woods required securing 23 parcels of land, vacating and closing a city street and two public alleys and removing lead and arsenic from the soil. The project – begun in 2007 – was well managed, completed on time and came in about $40,000 under budget. It has been fully occupied since its opening in June 2008. Gratiot Woods is affordable to very low income seniors, thanks in part to a Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) through HUD. It includes many safety and lifestyle-enhancing features important for seniors. Gratiot Woods Co-op is owned and managed by the Gratiot Woods Non-Profit Housing Corporation. Meeting the goals of this project while maintaining an extremely tight budget created a building that an entire community is proud of and a project worthy of a 2010 Affordable Housing Vanguard Award.

The Terraces on Tulane
When Hurricane Katrina devastated numerous affordable housing units in New Orleans, one of those destroyed was Forest Towers East, a 200-unit, Section 202 property located in East New Orleans. Volunteers of America (VOA), which owned this property along with 29 others that were damaged, replaced Forest Towers East with The Terraces on Tulane, a $43 million structure also with 200 apartments for seniors. All of the residents of Forest Towers East were evacuated safely and subsequently tracked by VOA during the post-hurricane aftermath. Eighty-four of the original residents of Forest Towers East will move back into The Terraces on Tulane. The new community is a beautiful high-rise in the Mid-City neighborhood. It is a transit-oriented development that has immediate access to neighborhood amenities, including medical services, grocery stores, and entertainment. There were major financing and other challenges for the project’s completion, but the end result is service-enriched housing for low-income seniors that enables them to live as independently as they are able and to age in place.

Viewpoint Senior Apartments, owned and managed by National Church Residences of Columbus, OH, is an affordable senior housing property whose original building was constructed in 1967. Its project goals were to preserve the property as affordable Section 8 housing; to address capital and rehab needs; and to improve the marketability, function and appearance while optimizing energy efficiency and improving overall liveability. Among the challenges facing this project were getting approvals to reduce the number of units from 153 to 117; finding adequate sources of financing the $13 million renovation; relocating residents during construction; and reconfiguring the units for residents’ maximum comfort. Among the design features were removing existing walls to enlarge once-partitioned, small rooms, creating socialization areas that are open and inviting, and improving mobility, functionality and aesthetics. Design elements employ green building strategies while lowering operating costs and maintenance needs. The result is a clean, contemporary, highly visible high-rise that is now a landmark structure on the edge of Lake Erie.

Loft 27 is a workforce housing community in an early 1900’s mill building along a working canal in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is the quintessential “Smart Growth” rehabilitation of a National Historic Landmark. WinnDevelopment acquired the project in 2006 when it was a partially constructed, failed condominium. Challenges included construction delays, financing and lack of common area amenities.  In particular, Loft27 had significant amounts of interior space that could not be used for housing.  While some applications were obvious (storage and maintenance shop), the Winn team identified amenities to greatly enhance the resident experience and activate these blocks of space in excess of 5000 sf per floor. Two spaces are now designated The Warehouse and The Gallery. The Warehouse features a stunning color scheme, striking architectural detail, stylized yet comfortable furnishings, a fitness hub and a state-of-the-art media center. The beautifully-lit Gallery exhibits artwork by local talent in a café setting. Loft 27’s SoHo style lofts incorporate historical elements in 173 apartments averaging 1600 square feet which allow for plentiful closet space, open kitchens and large windows offering views of the canal and downtown. High ceilings, hardwood floors, ceiling fans, HD cable TV and high-speed internet access complete each apartment home.

Hollander Foundation Center
The Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Foundation Center is a neo-classical structure formerly known as The Capitol Building. Built in 1926, it was donated to its current owners (Common Ground of New York, NY) after sitting vacant for 10 years. Restoring this building to its original grandeur has contributed a great deal to the revitalization of downtown Hartford, CT. Challenges to converting this building to affordable multifamily housing included that the project had no existing plumbing, electrical or HVAC systems. The development team worked carefully to adhere to the owners’ vision for the development to be a sustainable green building. Also, because the Hollander Building is on the Registry of Historic Buildings, the developers had to make certain that all of the modern systems and conveniences could be installed without disrupting the historic features. WinnResidential started working with Common Ground on the project in May 2009. As the last phase of residential development was taking place, the management team started marketing the property and aligning operations, and the building was leased up in early 2010. The Hollander Foundation Center is the first affordable housing for families in downtown Hartford, the first LEED-certified, mixed-use building in Connecticut, the first LEED certified multifamily residential building in Connecticut, the first LEED certified building utilizing Historic Tax Credits in Connecticut, and has the first green roof in Hartford.

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Introducing the NAHMA 2010 Affordable Housing Vanguard Award™

November 2009, Alexandria, VA - The NAHMA Affordable Housing Vanguard Award has been created to recognize newly developed affordable multifamily housing communities that showcase quality design and financing through their creation.

The Vanguard Award celebrates success in the multifamily affordable housing industry by recognizing and benchmarking new, quality multifamily affordable housing development. The award will –

The Vanguard Award complements NAHMA’s Communities of Quality (COQ) National Recognition Program, through which multifamily properties are certified as having achieved a high standard of excellence in the way they are managed, the services they provide residents, the experience and training of personnel, and other criteria. However, newly developed properties are too new to meet criteria of NAHMA’s COQ National Recognition Program (particularly in the inspection and financial audit categories), hence the creation of the Vanguard Award to recognize these properties. As the properties mature, they will become eligible – and will be encouraged – to enter NAHMA’s COQ National Recognition Program.

Vanguard Award Categories:
A. New Construction
B. Major Rehabilitation of an Existing Rental Housing Community
C. Major Rehabilitation of a Non-Housing Structure into Affordable Rental Housing
D. Major Rehabilitation of a Historic Structure into Affordable Rental Housing

Who May Apply:
Affordable multifamily housing communities that are less than three years old (as of May 1, 2010) may apply (based on date of completion of new construction or completion of major rehab). Affordable is defined as a property participating in a government funded, insured or otherwise sponsored program that results in rents that are below market-rate housing.

Where and When to Apply:
Applications should be submitted to the National Affordable Housing Management Association by May 1, 2010. Please email your PDF application to NAHMA at joe.thomas@nahma.org, or mail a CD containing your PDF application to NAHMA Vanguard Award, 400 N. Columbus St., Suite 203, Alexandria, VA 22314. For more details, please contact NAHMA Manager of Member Services Joe Thomas at 703-683-8630, ext. 12.

Entry Fees:
The entry fee is $150 per property for members of NAHMA or an AHMA, and $325 per property for non-members. Please reference the name of the applicant property when submitting payment, via either credit card at the NAHMA Webstore at www.nahma.org, or via check payable to NAHMA and mailed to NAHMA Vanguard Award, 400 N. Columbus St., Suite 203, Alexandria, VA 22314.

The Judging Process:
NAHMA will convene a distinguished panel of multifamily affordable housing practitioners in early May 2010 to conduct the judging process.

The Awards Ceremony:
Winners of the Affordable Housing Vanguard Awards will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the NAHMA Summer Meeting in June 2010.

Beyond the Recognition – Other Benefits of Participation:
- A congratulations letter and certificate
- A draft press release for use with local media
- A draft letter for sending to Congressional representatives
- A free subscription to NAHMA News ($100 value)
- A crystal award
- Inclusion in a press release distributed by NAHMA to national media and trade press
- Inclusion in a detailed article on award winners in NAHMA News and on the NAHMA website

How to Apply:

Applications must be submitted in PDF format. For full details on how to apply, click here.