Thirty-six inspiring developments have been named finalists in this year’s affordable housing finance magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
Each is unique and show the range of housing being built for families, seniors, people who used to be homeless, and those with special needs. Some also illustrate the innovative steps being taken to preserve existing affordable housing, redevelop aging public housing, and adapt endangered historic buildings into needed homes.
Completed in 2020 or 2021, this year’s finalists are also special because they were built amid the enormous challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. They overcame delays and other obstacles to become safe havens during the health crisis.
Chosen from 123 entries, this year’s finalists are located in 18 states and the District of Columbia. They were selected based on innovation, impact, and creative problem-solving.
You can read about the developments below. AHF magazine and newsletter subscribers can then vote for the winners in 10 categories plus an overall winner. Voting takes place through Aug. 20 and is restricted to subscribers as of Aug. 2.
The winners will be recognized at AHF Live: The 2021 Affordable Housing Developers Summit, Nov. 15-17, in Chicago.
Carson Arts
Meta Housing brings affordable housing with a focus on the arts to Carson, California.
Douglas Greene
Woda Cooper Cos. builds needed affordable housing after 2016’s devastating Tennessee wildfires.
The Eastman Reserve
PathStone Corp. develops a mixed-income development on the campus once owned by the Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, New York.
Marshall Gardens
The Community Builders has transformed empty lots into 87 homes in a Baltimore neighborhood.
Day Creek Senior Villas
National CORE’s first net-zero energy development is providing needed housing for seniors 62 and older in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Les Maisons de Bayou Lafourche
A new development from Gulf Coast Housing Partnership will serve as a prototype for storm-resilient and durable building.
The Abigail Senior Apartments
TWG Development transforms buildings at the former Michigan School for the Blind into needed housing.
The Arts Lofts at the Dayton Arcade
Developers team to bring new life, and affordable housing, to the historic Dayton Arcade in Dayton, Ohio.
Milwaukee Soldiers Home
The Alexander Co. restores buildings at the Milwaukee Soldiers Home to provide housing for veterans.
Preservation Crossing
Intervest Development creates affordable housing for seniors at beloved high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
4400 Grove
4400 Grove from Brinshore Development and Michaels Development Co. creates storefronts for Black-owned businesses.
Spark at Midtown
Linc Housing creates a flagship development, Spark at Midtown, in its hometown of Long Beach, California.
St. Paul's Commons
St. Paul’s Commons by Resources for Community Development delivers housing and new facilities for a homeless nonprofit on the grounds of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek, California.
Ascendant Heritage Apartments
Ascendant Neighborhood Development has preserved the affordability of 21 buildings in East Harlem.
Heatherstone
Security Properties transforms the Pacific Northwest’s largest affordable housing property.
Parkwood Commons
Wallick-Hendy Development has turned around a troubled affordable housing community in Peoria, Illinois.
Baychester-Murphy NYCHA Preservation
NYCHA teams with developers to rehab 722 public housing units in 14 buildings in New York.
Lyman Terrace, Phase 2
The Community Builders renew an 80-year-old public housing community in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Royal Cambridge Homes
Developers combine rehab and new construction to address the affordable housing need at three sites in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Beach Run Apartments
HDC MidAtlantic’s Beach Run Apartments meets the need for workforce housing in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania.
Osborn Commons
Woda Cooper Cos. adds mixed-income housing and a convenience store to downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Riverside Lofts
Gorman & Co. transforms a historic warehouse in Jefferson, Wisconsin, into affordable housing and space for local artists.
Toka Hanam Ke:K
The Tohono O'odham Ki:Ki Association, with Travois, has created needed affordable housing and community reservations on the southwestern Arizona reservation.
26th and Clarksville, Phase 3
A Nashville, Tennessee, development by Urban Housing Solutions connects seniors to health care and technology.
Abrams Hall Senior at The Parks at Walter Reed
A development team has created affordable senior housing in former Army barracks in Washington, D.C.
Jason Gwilt Memorial Senior Apartments
Developers transform a vacant school in Verona, New York, into housing and a senior center.
Leigh Avenue Senior Apartments
First Community Housing’s Leigh Avenue Senior Apartments provides housing for the most vulnerable in San Jose, California.
Andy's Place
A Michigan development provides housing as well as programs for people to recover from addiction.
Arlington Drive Campus for Homeless Youth and Young Adults
The Tacoma Housing Authority has created critical housing and a crisis center for young adults.
Heroes Landing
In California, Jamboree builds Orange County’s largest permanent supportive housing development for veterans.
Mason Place
Housing Catalyst embraces trauma-informed designed at a new permanent supportive housing project in Fort Collins, Colorado.
New Hope Housing Dale Carnegie
New Hope Housing Dale Carnegie helps Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey with new studio apartments.
Florence Mills Apartments
Hollywood Community Housing Corp.’s Florence Mills Apartments celebrates history of vibrant South Central Los Angeles.
Hope Manor Village
Volunteers of America Illinois continues its work in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood with the new Hope Manor Village.
Nohona Hale
EAH Housing and Bronx Pro Group create a micro-unit development on a small, underutilized parking lot in Honolulu.
The Rosa and The Van de Vyver
Enterprise Community Development’s new construction and adaptive-reuse projects help to revitalize Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia.
