Industry News

By Shelterforce

People

The Urban Land Institute’s Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development is being shared this year by F. Barton Harvey III, former chairman and chief executive office of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. and Columbia, Md.-based Enterprise, a provider of affordable rental and owner-occupied housing. The Nichols Prize recognizes a person or a person representing an institution whose career “demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of responsible development.” Harvey, who joined Enterprise in 1984 and retired last March, oversaw the organization as it grew to more than $1 billion raised and invested annually to create affordable housing. He is credited with expanding Enterprise’s scope in the area of workforce housing. The $100,000 prize is named for J.C. Nichols, a founding ULI member.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing’s 2008 Champions in Supportive Housing Awards in November honored Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for her work in public policy. The fifth annual ceremony, held outside Washington, D.C., recognized supportive-housing ‘heroes’—individuals, and organizations helping at-risk populations in an attempt to prevent and end homelessness.

Marcia Bollinger, Apartment Finder senior vice president since 2003, was named president of the publication in September. Under Bollinger’s watch, Apartment Finder, which includes ApartmentFinder.com, has shifted from a publication that was largely geared toward the Southeast and secondary U.S. markets, to a major national presence in 114 markets. The publication is the fastest-growing media platform in the apartment industry.

Dr. George A. Pruitt, the long-time president of Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey, was named in October as the new chair of the Seedco board of directors. Pruitt succeeds outgoing chair Stanley Brezenoff, the president of Continuum Health Partners Inc. Brezenoff will remain on the board of Seedco, a national nonprofit based in New York City that helps low-income individuals and communities. Pruitt has been Thomas Edison State College president since 1982 and has been a Seedco board member since 1990. In other Seedco news, Robert Giloth, director of family economic success at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been elected to the Seedco board. Giloth brings extensive experience in workforce development, asset building, and family economic support. Since 1993, he has served at the Annie E. Casey Foundation—a private children’s philanthropy. There, he is responsible for work on the foundation’s Jobs Initiative, family economic support such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, and other investments in family-related economic advancement.

Shelterforce mourns the passing of George Knight, a Presbyterian minister and a tireless housing advocate who served as executive director of NeighborWorks America, then called the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, from 1990 through 2000. NeighborWorks is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1978 to provide financial support and assistance for community-based revitalization efforts. Prior to joining NeighborWorks in the 1970s, Knight helped start the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. in Chicago, serving as that organization’s executive director from 1967 through 1970. Knight remained active in retirement, serving on the boards of Volunteers of America and the National Housing Trust, as well as being a member of the National Housing Conference. Knight was 65.

Organizations

Madison Park Development Association, the Orchard Gardens Public Safety Committee, and the Boston Police Department received a $10,000 Neighborhood Revitalization Award in October for forging a partnership in reducing crime, spurring housing development and economic activity, and working to improve community services. The award was presented by the MetLife Foundation for the partnership’s accomplishments specifically in reducing crime and improving the quality of life in the Orchard Gardens/Orchard Commons developments in Roxbury, Mass. Madison Park Development Association CEO Jeanne Pinado and Orchard Resident Association President Edna Bynoe received the award.

Madison Area Community Land Trust won first place and $75,000 in September in recognition of the organization’s promotion of affordable housing in Madison, Wis. The award, given by the Home Depot Foundation, is in the category of Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly, and specifically cited Madison Area CLT’s Troy Gardens Project, a 31-acre urban infill development that combines community gardens, a working Community Supported Agriculture farm, a restored prairie, and a 30-home, mixed-income cohousing community. The Troy Gardens project began in 1995 as part of an effort of collaborating organizations, and was finished in 2007, following the completion of the housing component. The project incorporates green features including energy-efficient appliances, low-flow fixtures, solar panels, rain barrels, and bike paths. The runner-up honoree was the Kulshan Community Land Trust in Bellingham, Wash.

Mercy Housing, Inc., one of the country’s largest affordable housing providers, and Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), the nation’s second-largest Catholic health system, announced a 10-year, formal partnership as Strategic Care Partners in September. CHI has donated $6 million to fund capital improvements and supportive programs at Mercy Housing properties in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The gift is the largest single-source donation in Mercy Housing’s history.

Published by the National Housing Institute