When I started this magazine 15 years ago, the housing tax credit was only five years old, and corporate investors still saw it as fairly risky.
A lot has changed since then. Most notably, the tax credit program has been extremely successful and won the loyalty of corporate investors as well as the U.S. Congress.
A lot changed at this magazine, as well. We increased from quarterly to monthly frequency and launched another magazine, a directory and two conferences. We relocated to San Francisco and have had four different offices here.
Recently, however, I realized I have taken our products as far as I could as an entrepreneur. I decided that, to grow our business and better serve our customers, I needed to find a new home for these titles.
After careful consideration, I decided that Hanley Wood, LLC, had the capacity, resources, and talent to help my staff and me provide more services to the affordable housing and community development industry.
Based in Washington, D.C., Hanley Wood has a 30-year track record of serving the information needs of the housing industry. Affordable Housing Finance magazine and AHF Live: The Tax Credit Developers’ Summit are joining the ranks of such titles as Builder and Multifamily Executive magazines, and such events as the Builder 100, which brings together the CEOs of most of the nation’s top home building firms. (Apartment Finance Today magazine and AFT’s Developer Conference are also now part of Hanley Wood.)
Hanley Wood is the premier media company serving housing and construction. Through five operating divisions, the company produces award-winning magazines and Web sites, marquee trade shows and events, rich data and custom marketing solutions.
Hanley Wood Magazines publishes 26 award-winning residential and commercial construction titles. The $240 million company is owned by JPMorgan Partners, LLC, a private equity affiliate of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
I will remain editor-in-chief of both magazines and chair of both conferences, and all of our editors, conference staff, and sales people will remain with me in our San Francisco office.
For me, this is the end of my entrepreneurial days. But for our readers and advertisers, it’s a great new beginning. There’s so much going on in our field, and so much yet to be done. With Hanley Wood’s resources and expertise behind us, my staff and I fully intend to do more than ever to help you deliver more housing and revitalize more American neighborhoods.
We will move quickly to improve our products under Hanley Wood, increasing the depth and breadth of our coverage and finding new ways to deliver more information products targeted to very specific needs in this complex business.
We are working on editorial plans for 2007 as I write this, as well as ideas for new conferences and/or training programs and new print products. I invite you to contact me with your ideas at [email protected]
The tax credit program is 20 years old this year, and I look forward to celebrating with you at the National Council of State Housing Agencies’ (NCSHA) Tax Credit Conference in San Diego. I also urge you to turn to page 28 for our special Housing Finance Agency Forum. Pay particular attention to the commentary by NCSHA Executive Director Barbara Thompson. Relentless advocacy is what’s needed to keep the tax credit program strong, and that’s what Barbara and NCSHA and the state tax credit allocating agencies have been providing for so many years. Let’s all support their efforts by getting involved with advocacy work at the state, local, and federal levels. Don’t forget to thank them for all the hard work that helped us make it to this point. Here’s to another 20 years!
