Affordable Housing Finance

GRAPEVINE

Addressing the Changing Landscape

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • September 2009

BY CHRISTINE SERLIN

Developers and owners have been hit hard over the last year with a struggling lowincome housing tax credit market and troubled fi- nancial markets.

AHF Live: The 2009 Affordable Housing Developers’ Summit, Oct. 26-28 at the Palmer House in Chicago, will explore the changing landscape of the affordable housing industry through a variety of sessions featuring some of the smartest people in the industry.

You will learn the latest from Capitol Hill, the outlook for tax credit equity, an update from state housing finance agencies, and what’s new on the debt financing front. And you will leave the conference with takeaways that will help you continue to build and sustain housing for low-income Americans. “More than ever, developers need to attend to understand how signifi- cantly the world is changing and what their opportunities are,” says R. Lee Harris, president and CEO of Cohen-Esrey Real Estate Services, LLC.

The conference will kick off with the annual Editorial Advisory Board Roundtable. This all-star group of tax credit developers, financiers, and legal and accounting professionals will discuss the most important issues and trends in the affordable housing industry, including the continued challenges of today’s tax credit market.

Another highlight of the event will be the keynote address by Carol Galante, deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The former president of BRIDGE Housing, Galante will share the latest development and preservation initiatives at HUD as well as her view of what’s on the horizon for the affordable housing industry in 2010.

The event will conclude with AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE’s Hall of Fame and Readers’ Choice Awards Luncheon, where we will honor and induct five outstanding individuals into this year’s Affordable Housing Hall of Fame. The inductees are Renee Glover, CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority; the late George Knight, former executive director of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. (now known as NeighborWorks); John McEvoy, former executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies; Sister Lillian Murphy, CEO of Mercy Housing; and the late I. Don Terner, principal founder and first executive director of BRIDGE Housing. Also, the winners of the magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards will be recognized.

Attendance is reserved exclusively for owners and developers of affordable housing, plus state and local housing fi- nance agency representatives and nonprofi ts focused on the affordable housing business.

The early-bird registration fee for those who sign up before Sept. 18 is $549. Regular registration is $649. Nonprofits and government agencies receive a $149 discount per registration. To register or for more information, visit www.ahflive.com.