Affordable Housing Finance is pleased to announce the winners of its 2008 Readers’ Choice Awards for the Nation’s Top Affordable Housing Developments.
The winners will be featured in the November issue of Affordable Housing Finance and will be honored at a luncheon at the conclusion of AHF Live: The Tax Credit Developers’ Summit Nov. 5-7 in Chicago.
Out of the 32 finalists, Broadway Crossing in Seattle took top honors as the overall winner. Capitol Hill Housing developed 44 affordable units atop a 10,000-square-foot Walgreens. This development also earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification for new construction.
Family Winner: Hartford Grandfamily Housing Development, developed by Community Renewal Team, Inc., in Hartford, Conn. Twenty-four apartments are set aside for grandparents raising their own grandchildren, while 16 apartments are for seniors.
Green Winner: Gish Apartments, developed by First Community Housing, in San Jose, Calif. Gish’s green building elements earned it a LEED for Homes gold certification. The development features 35 units, and all tenants receive an annual transit pass for use on bus and light-rail systems in Santa Clara County.
Historic Rehab Winner: Buena Vista Terrace, developed by Citizens Housing Corp., in San Francisco. Citizens Housing preserved a historic church building while creating 40 affordable apartments for seniors. This development is also the first residential building in San Francisco that is entirely smoke-free.
Homeownership Winner: Fair Oaks Court, developed by Heritage Housing Partners, in Pasadena, Calif. Fair Oaks Court became the first for-sale housing development to tap New Markets Tax Credits for project funding. It features 36 income-targeted units.
Master-Planned/Mixed-Use Winner: Seola Crossing at Greenbridge, developed by King County Housing Authority, in Seattle. Completed in June 2007, the 187-unit development is the first of four rental housing phases to replace deteriorating housing that was originally built in 1942 to house Boeing workers during World War II.
Preservation Winner: Emeritus House, developed by Famicos Foundation, in Cleveland. Before the renovation, Emeritus House had 42 efficiencies and 14 one-bedroom units. After the gut rehab, it now has 42 one-bedroom units and 14 efficiencies.
Rural Winner: El Cerrito Apartment Homes, developed by Tierra Realty Trust IV, LLC, in Taos, N.M. El Cerrito features 56 affordable units, with 14 set aside for the homeless and those displaced by domestic violence in this high-cost rural community.
Seniors Winners (tie): Johnson Lake Apartment Homes, developed by The Landmark Group, in Pensacola, Fla. To replace apartments lost to Hurricane Ivan damage in 2004, The Landmark Group built 160 units at Johnson Lake using funds provided through two Florida programs designed to aid in hurricane recovery.
Parkview Terraces, developed by AF Evans Development, Inc., and Chinatown Community Development Center, in San Francisco. Parkview Terraces, featuring 100 affordable units, is the first residential development in San Francisco to be completed on a site once occupied by the Central Freeway, which was battered by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Special-Needs Winner: Evans House, developed by Downtown Emergency Service Center, in Seattle. This development comprises 75 units for chronically homeless single adults with mental illnesses. Thirty-five of the units are reserved for people who have just been released from a state psychiatric hospital and who are at very high risk of being re-institutionalized.
Urban Winner: Railton Place, developed by The Salvation Army, in San Francisco. This development features 113 units and a community center in one of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods. The units will serve young adults aging out of foster care and chronically homeless adults and veterans.
