Sharing Information, Resources at the
Virginia Housing Preservation Symposium
Fairfax, VA--As our nation struggles to address serious shortages in housing for low- and moderate- income households, many states and localities are beginning to create regionalized answers within the scope of their resources and authority.
About 100 of the state's affordable housing leaders joined in the Virginia Housing Preservation Symposium in Fairfax on June 18 to discuss strategies and options to preserve affordable housing in Virginia.
In his welcoming remarks, Michael Bodaken, president of the National Housing Trust, emphasized that affordable housing preservation is a national issue but a local challenge. "While preservation is a national challenge, the wide variety of local conditions requires a local, special response," he said. "Intervention requires a local understanding of the market, the population, and the support for preservation at the local and state level."
Panel members shared resources and tools available for preservation work in the state of Virginia from government agencies and capital sources, as well as in depth case studies from affordable housing leaders who do preservation work in Virginia and in other parts of the country. The day-long dialogue ended with a town hall discussion among all of the participants, who generated a list of the remaining challenges and needs in order to preserve Virginia's affordable housing.
Jane Henderson, president of Virginia Community Capital (VCC), said this was perhaps the most telling part of the event. "Preservation is a statewide issue," she said. "Today we were able to network and share resource, which is a great start to developing a statewide policy initative."
Presentations
Opening Remarks
Government Resources
- Bill Shelton, DHCD
- Charles C. Famuliner, HUD
- Ellen Matthews Davis, USDA Rural Development
- Michael Scheurer, VHDA
Financing Options
- Bill Skeen, VCC
- Brian Gallagher, The Community Development Trust
- Graham Driver, VCDC
- Stacie Birenbach, LISC
Keynote Speaker
Case Studies
- Aseem Nigam, Fairfax County
- Michelle H. Norris, National Church Residences
- Orlando Artze, Community Housing Partners
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