New Updates on The Edge

PD&R’s online magazine, The Edge, provides you with a snapshot view of our newly released research, periodicals, publications, news, and commentaries on housing and urban development issues. Stay informed on current topics and check back frequently, as our content is routinely updated.

Message from PD&R Leadership: Happy New Year 2020

In the leadership message, Assistant Secretary for PD&R Seth D. Appleton reviews the office’s accomplishments in 2019 and discusses plans for 2020. In the retrospective, Appleton highlights the progress that the office has made in the three priority areas of reducing regulatory barriers to affordable housing, disaster recovery, and engaging stakeholders to develop the Research Roadmap. Appleton also describes several of PD&R’s notable 2019 publications, and discusses the research planned for the coming year.

Featured: Keeping Housing Affordable: The Growing Need to Preserve Existing Housing

In October 2019, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation held a webinar titled “Understanding Preservation Needs, Risks, and Tenant Protections.” During the webinar, four speakers discussed the importance of preserving the nation’s existing affordable housing stock, the implications of expiring affordability restrictions for projects developed with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and more.

In Practice: Preserving and Transforming a Longtime Affordable Housing Development in Salem, Oregon

Fairhaven Gardens is an 87-unit affordable apartment complex in Salem, Oregon. Originally built in 1969 as Viking Village, the aging development was facing the prospect of conversion into market-rate housing in the years leading up to 2017, when it was purchased by Community Development Partners (CDP). CDP undertook an extensive $17 million renovation of the complex’s 10 buildings, landscaping, and infrastructure, and added amenities including a large community garden with a greenhouse and a clubhouse.

Trending: Addressing Vacant Properties with Land Conservancies

In October 2019, the Center for Community Progress held a webinar titled “Bringing Nature to Communities: The Role of Land Conservancies in Addressing Vacant Properties.” The event featured two staff members from the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy who discussed their organization’s nontraditional decision to pursue urban work and highlighted the conservancy’s role in remediating blighted and vacant properties in Saginaw, Michigan.

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