National Sponsors of NAHMA’s 2018 Communities of Quality® Awards Program
Sponsored by HD Supply Multifamily Solutions and Navigate Affordable Housing Partners.
NAHMA Names Top Communities of Quality for 2018
The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) announces four communities were selected as the 2018 winners of its annual Communities of Quality (COQ) Awards program. Since 1992, these awards have honored the best multifamily affordable housing communities across the country.
Entrants are judged on how they manage the physical, financial, and social conditions of their properties, and on how well they convey their success in offering the highest quality of life for their residents.
The 2018 COQ Awards were presented at NAHMA’s Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing winter conference, March 3-5, in Washington, D.C.
“There is no other award that focuses so comprehensively on the everyday life and management expertise of affordable housing properties,” NAHMA Executive Director Kris Cook, CAE, said.
NAHMA congratulates the winners:
- Exemplary Family Development: Mandela Homes, Boston, Mass.; Owner: Mandela Preservation LLC; Management: Beacon Residential Management; AHMA: NEAHMA
- Exemplary Development for the Elderly: Saint Matthew Manor, Philadelphia, Penn.; Owner: Saint Matthew Housing Development Inc.; Management Company: Community Realty Management; AHMA: PennDel
- Exemplary Development for Residents with Special Needs: Marlkress Commons, Cherry Hill, N.J.; Owner: New Jersey Affordable Housing Preservation; Management Company: PRD Management Inc.; AHMA: JAHMA
- Outstanding Turnaround of a Troubled Property: Atlantic Apartment Homes, Washington, D.C.; Owner: WinnCompanies; Management Company: WinnResidential; AHMA: Mid-Atlantic AHMA
About the Sponsors
About HD Supply Multifamily Solutions: With 50,000-plus items and free, next-day delivery on most items to most areas, HD Supply Multifamily Solutions is your source for maintenance supplies, fabrication, installation, and renovation services. Over 700 account representatives serve more than 130 markets, providing personalized service backed by the strength of a national company. To order, call 1-800-431-3000 or visit hdsupplysolutions.com.
About Navigate Affordable Housing Partners: Based in Birmingham, Ala., Navigate Affordable Housing Partners is HUD’s Section 8 PBCA for Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, and Connecticut. With a strong reputation for customer service and training, Navigate oversees a portfolio of more than 70,000 units and has a history of developing, owning, and managing HUD-assisted properties in Alabama. For further information, visit navigatehousing.com.
Mandela Homes
Exemplary Family Development | Boston, Mass.
Mandela Homes is a 276-unit affordable apartment community located in the heart of Boston’s Lower Roxbury neighborhood, financed by the federal Low-Income Tax Credit program and Project-Based Section 8. The community maintains a 99% occupancy rate with receivables under 2%, and earned a REAC score of 99a on its most recent inspection with no findings on its most recent MOR or LIHTC compliance review.
Of the 1,037 residents, 8% are 55 or older and 16% are considered disabled. Many residents have lived at Mandela Homes for more than 30 years. Resident service coordinators provide direct support for healthcare and mental health access, community resource connections, and on-site educational and wellness programming for all age groups. A partnership with Longwood Security and the Boston Police Department helps ensure safety across the property’s buildings and grounds.
Saint Matthew Manor
Exemplary Development for the Elderly | Philadelphia, Penn.
Saint Matthew Manor is an affordable senior housing community with 58 units, including seven for residents with disabilities, located in the Haddington section of West Philadelphia. Built in the 1990s, the community maintains a continuous 0% vacancy rate. In a community-minded effort to address homelessness, management partnered with Project Home to house two homeless veterans, fully furnishing each apartment including food, bedding, and household essentials upon move-in.
Programming for residents includes health-related workshops, flu shots, aging with dignity seminars, health screenings, an annual resident appreciation barbecue, a food sharing program, and charity walks. Staff encourages residents to support and look out for one another, creating an environment management describes as “housing with a heart.”
Marlkress Commons
Exemplary Development for Residents with Special Needs | Cherry Hill, N.J.
Developed in 1994, Marlkress Commons is a two-story, 24-unit Section 202/811 property serving elderly residents and residents with disabilities in South Jersey. The building features 36-inch wide doors, raised electrical outlets, lower sinks and cabinets for wheelchair access, roll-in showers with grab bars, raised toilets, and on-site accessible laundry facilities. Walls and doorways were reinforced to withstand motorized wheelchair use while retaining an attractive appearance.
The recently expanded community room hosts birthday parties, bingo, movie nights, and holiday gatherings. Weekly food donations arrive from Whole Foods and Wawa through the Food Distribution Connection. The property has maintained full occupancy and balanced budgets throughout its history, enabling the community to be maintained in near-new condition. Strong relationships with local emergency management, police, fire, and EMS teams further support resident safety.
Atlantic Apartment Homes
Outstanding Turnaround of a Troubled Property | Washington, D.C.
Atlantic Apartment Homes, formerly two separate communities known as Atlantic Gardens (105 units) and Atlantic Terrace (195 units), occupies eight acres along Third and Fourth Streets in Ward 8, Washington, D.C. WinnCompanies completed a $69 million occupied rehabilitation in 2017 that fully modernized both properties, preserving 303 units of critically needed Project-Based Section 8 housing.
Beyond the physical transformation, the development team expanded resident services substantially. Partnerships with the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, United Planning Organization, Children’s Hospital, the Capital Area Food Bank, and DC Kitchen connect residents to employment development, early education, health care, and financial coaching. A 651-kilowatt solar installation on the roof of Atlantic Terrace is the largest community renewable energy system in D.C., reducing approximately 160 households’ utility bills by $500 per year at no cost to residents. Energy retrofits are expected to cut residents’ energy costs by nearly half compared to pre-renovation levels.