Andrew Bailey’s first foray into the affordable housing industry was as an intern for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) from 2008 to 2010 when he was working on his master’s of city and regional planning at The Ohio State University.
After a stint at another government agency, Bailey returned to OHFA in 2011 when a housing grant analyst position opened.
“Going to the properties and seeing what was happening met the needs I had for making a difference,” says Bailey.
He quickly advanced at OHFA, becoming program and policy manager in 2012 and then director of the agency’s Office of Planning, Preservation, and Development in 2013.
As director, he administered millions of dollars in funds, including the state’s low-income housing tax credit program, federal HOME funds, and Ohio Housing Trust Fund money. He also managed a significant rewrite of OHFA’s qualified allocation plan (QAP) to balance the needs of the state’s developer community while achieving housing policy goals.
In August, the 32-year-old Bailey reversed roles, leaving the state agency for The Millennia Cos., a Cleveland-based firm that specializes in the acquisition, rehab, and management of affordable and market-rate housing.
"Andrew demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm for affordable housing policy and displayed a lot of creativity in developing solutions to issues,” says Sean Thomas, chief of staff at OHFA. “These traits along with his strong work ethic and outgoing personality helped him succeed at the agency and will help him as he transitions to the private sector."
Bailey will bring his management background and knowledge of QAPs to his new position as executive vice president of Millennia Housing Development.
“I’ll be working with the team to acquire, refinance, fund tax credit deals, and work through the portfolio [president] Frank Sinito has built,” he says.
He adds that he will continue to do policy work around affordable housing preservation. “I love policy, and I want to make sure I continue advocating for preservation and revitalization. We have a plan to do advocacy on both state and federal levels.”
