Our plan was to seek out community-based organizations trying to back away from developer fees, pursuing recent implications that smaller organizations should consider leaving development work to more efficient, larger ones. We found none.
The article "Getting Beyond the Developer Fee" has spurred some discussion.
"This article accurately portrays the state of the community development field . . . and it should worry those who are committed to resident-led community development," noted Joe Kriesburg of the Massachusetts Association of CDCs. He then gave a list of points to consider about the current environment, including:
- Over the past 20-plus years there has been an intentional and dramatic investment in building the CDFI sector through certification, grants, technical assistance, and access to capital. There has been nothing comparable for CDCs. This needs to change.
- Our housing finance system has become dominated by tax credits–LIHTC, NMTC, Historic. More flexible and easier to use funds like HOME and CDBG have been slashed. These policy decisions have had significant impact not just on who develops housing but on what we develop.
- Those who argue that smaller CDCs should focus on organizing, resident services, and other non-real estate activities need to identify sustainable business models to support these activities. The reality is that there is no substitute for owning real estate.
His final point reminded me of the path we took with "Getting Beyond the Developer Fee." Our original plan was to seek out community-based organizations that were actively trying to back away from developer fees, pursuing recent implications that smaller organizations should consider leaving development work to more efficient, larger organizations.
We found none. (This doesn't mean they don't exist, of course, but perhaps they are not so common.)
We did find many organizations thinking in new ways about diversifying their incomes and programming, both for fiscal sustainability and in a move to recapture the comprehensive nature of this work, but community development groups generally don't see those alternatives as independently supportable enough to let them back away from real estate deals.
FULL STORY: Earned Income Should Not Replace Public Funding for Community Development
Can Nonprofits Tap Into the $17.5 billion Market in Distressed Mortgages?
The sale of distressed mortgages is far less publicized than talk of the market for foreclosed properties. But these loans are being actively traded—in 2011 this activity included 149,000 loans which translates to roughly $26 billion in trades.
Mismanagement Leads to Loss of up to $35M for DC Affordable Housing
The District’s housing agency forfeited what would amount to $35 million in federal housing funds over the next decade.
One Federal Low-Income Housing Program is Actually Being Expanded
Recent changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program could lead to over a million new housing units, but cuts to adjacent and complementary programs could limit its impact.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association