Construction to Begin on The Residence at Thayer Ave., Quality Affordable Rental Housing in the Heart of Silver Spring, MD

Thayer-Ave.-6.18JUNE 18

Silver Spring, MD – Officials agree that the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring – an explosion of new office buildings, shopping opportunities and theaters – requires quality affordable  housing to be complete.

Secretary Skinner on Tuesday joined Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and others for the unveiling of The Residence of Thayer Avenue, the $18 million acquisition and new construction of 52 one and two bedroom units of precisely the kind of affordable housing the community needs. Construction is expected to take about 13 months.

Peter Siegel of Landex Development said the complicated project involved 10 different funding sources, including $8.1 million multifamily development revenue bonds, $2.9 million through the rental housing production program, $250,000 from the Rental Housing Works initiative and more than $311,000 in low income housing tax credits for $3 million in equity.

“Our quality of life is, in many ways, shaped by the choices we make as a state,” Secretary Skinner said. “Even as we endured one of the deepest economic downturns since the Great Depression, our state came together under the leadership of Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown to make better choices in housing and neighborhood revitalization, putting housing back to work across our state in projects such as The Residence at Thayer Avenue.”

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Using state and federal tax credits and other financing resources, the O’Malley-Brown administration has added more than 13,500 affordable rental housing units in 152 projects since July 2008, creating or preserving thousands of jobs and putting more than $2 billion into the economy.

The O’Malley administration reaffirmed that commitment to putting housing to work with the Rental Housing Works initiative, allocating  $17.5 million to affordable rental housing in 2012 and $20 million this year.

Posted in Affordable Housing, Rental Housing Works | Leave a comment

State and Local Officials Celebrate Grand Opening of Delmarva Community Services New Community Action Center

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JUNE 17

Cambridge, MD – Local and state officials cut the ribbon Wednesday to mark the grand opening of the Delmarva Community Services’ Community Action Center in Cambridge.

In front from the left are Program Manager Michelle Nichols, Delegate Addie Eckardt (R-37B), Executive Director and CEO Santo Grande, Board Member Joe Coyne, Board President William Batson, Delmarva Community Services Chief Operating Officer Mary Thorpe, Mayor Victoria Stanley, City Commissioner Gage Thomas, MAC, Inc. Executive Director Peggy Bradford, and John Handley.

In back from the left are NCALL Executive Director Joe Myer, DHCD Director of Community Services Block Grants Reggie Stanfield, USDA Rural Development Business and Community Program Director Denise MacLeish, Delmarva Community Transit Operations Manager Jerome Stanley and Delmarva Community Services Deputy Director of Disability Services Johnette Lanham.

Posted in Neighborhood Revitalization | Leave a comment

The New Baltimore Neighborhood Initiative Will Further Maryland’s Goal of a Smart, Green and Growing Future

Annapolis, MD – In January, House Speaker Michael Busch put together a work group to study opportunities for residential economic revitalization in the Baltimore region. Shortly afterward, the group submitted their recommendation for a program to reinvigorate the area. Once funding was secured, with the leadership and assistance of Governor O’Malley and Speaker Busch, the group’s proposal came to fruition with the creation of the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative, a new program that DHCD is excited to administer.

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The initiative, which is founded with a funding commitment of $3 million for capital projects and $750,000 for operating costs, is  directed toward locally-based, non-profit community development corporations. Applicants will be asked to describe their comprehensive plan for the revitalization of their local community, as well as specific priority projects to help realize that plan.

The Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative aims to help increase job and residential investment in the inner beltway’s older neighborhoods as well as the key quality-of-life features that establish the conditions for increasing market-rate investment. To do so, the initiative’s funds will be allocated competitively to local groups who can best use such strategies as property acquisition, redevelopment, rehabilitation and new infill development to encourage residential and economic investment in their local communities.

Along with a number of other neighborhood revitalization programs that DHCD administers, the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative  will help to realize the goal of Maryland being a smart, green, and growing state as it moves into a vibrant future.

Application Deadline

Completed application must be submitted by July 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM.

http://www.mdhousing.org/Website/programs/brni/default.aspx

For more information contact

Kevin N. Baynes, AICP
Office of Community Programs
Division of Neighborhood Revitalization
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
10 North Calvert Street, Suite 444
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-209-5823
baynes@mdhousing.org

Posted in Neighborhood Revitalization | Leave a comment

At His Eighth Foreclosure Prevention Workshop, Cong. Cummings Urged Homeowners to Protect Their Legacies

Cummings-Workshop-6.15Gwynn Oak, MD – Speaking passionately,  at times even closing his eyes and clasping his hands as if in prayer, Seventh District Congressman Elijah Cummings urged Baltimore area homeowners to do everything in their power to protect their financial legacies.

“We must understand that this is about more than you and it is about more than now; it is about having a roof over your head in your old age; it is about leaving a legacy for your children; it is about leaving a legacy for generations unborn,” the congressman said during his eighth foreclosure prevention workshop in Baltimore’s Woodlawn High School.

Cummings said his was the only congressional office in the country that had a staff focused on foreclosure prevention full-time, as members of the audience shouted “Amen!” and “Thank you!”

“We all fall,” he said. “The question is not whether we fall; the question is whether we pick ourselves back up.”

Saturday’s workshop brought financially beleaguered homeowners face to face with prevention counselors, lenders and pro bono attorneys in an attempt to cut through the red tape and work out sustainable alternatives to foreclosure on the spot.

Cummings-Workshop-(2)-6The workshop served as a reminder that although the foreclosure crisis has peaked, a significant number of homeowners remain in distress. Foreclosure activity in Maryland last month more than doubled over May 2012, giving the state one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.

But Maryland, under the leadership of Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, also has been among the most proactive in its response, passing some of the most sweeping reforms in the country and establishing the HOPE Counseling Network to ensure that homeowners are well-informed of their options, said Deputy Secretary Clarence Snuggs.

Maryland’s HOPE Housing Counseling Network has helped nearly 88,000 homeowners at risk of foreclosure. More than 23,000 families got the time and the counseling to bring their mortgage current. More than 10,000 families received loan modifications so that their monthly payments were more affordable. And more than 6,000 asked for and received foreclosure mediation, so that they had the opportunity at last to sit down face-to-face with their lender and hopefully negotiate a sustainable solution.

“The O’Malley-Brown administration made a choice at the beginning of this crisis to protect homeownership. Better choices have yielded better results for families, neighborhoods and our overall economy.”

Maryland’s housing recovery continues at a strong pace.  According to the Maryland Association of Realtors, the volume of home sales grew by 4.5 percent in 2012 to their highest level in five years.  The supply of homes for sale dropped to its lowest reading since 2006, pointing to a very tight housing market, and last month, Maryland reported its 11th consecutive month of sales gains on a year-over-year basis.  In fact, stronger market conditions may, in part, be driving the increase in foreclosure activity in Maryland, as lenders move to take advantage of growing demand and tight supply.

Posted in Foreclosure Mediation, Foreclosure Prevention | Leave a comment

Homeownership Program for Veterans and Military Families Extended to Sept. 30; $22 M Committed Since Program Began

JUNE 12

Lender-Partner-Bfast-6.12Crownsville, MD – A Maryland initiative that is helping make homeownership more accessible to veterans and military families has been extended to Sept. 30, Secretary Skinner announced Wednesday during a breakfast meeting with DHCD’s lender partners.

Maryland Homefront: the Veterans and Military Family Mortgage Program had been scheduled to end July 1.

Through the initiative, qualified buyers can receive $10,000 in downpayment assistance and a half percent discount on the regular Maryland Mortgage Program rate.

The discount, coupled with downpayment assistance, could mean significant savings for military and former military families seeking to buy a home in Maryland. Continue reading

Posted in First-Time Homebuyers, Homeownership, Maryland Mortgage Program, Veterans | Leave a comment

Fifth District Congressman Steny Hoyer Holds Housing Roundtable with Secretary Skinner in Prince George’s County

JUNE 10

Riverdale, MD –Fifth District Congressman Steny H. Hoyer met with Secretary Skinner on Monday to discuss housing issues and the move of the DHCD headquarters to Prince George’s County.

Following the meeting, Congressman Hoyer hosted a roundtable discussion with Secretary Skinner and the Coalition for Homeownership Preservation in Prince George’s County. Continue reading

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Nearly $17 Million in Grants Announced to Help Stabilize Neighborhoods, Expand Housing Opportunities in Maryland

NCI-Stabilization-Grants-6.6JUNE 6

Baltimore – Two national settlements arising out of the robo-signing scandal and other abuses of the foreclosure process are providing the resources to help stabilize neighborhoods and expand housing opportunities for families across Maryland, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced.

DHCD Chief Financial Officer Steve Silver joined the attorney general to announce grants totaling $16.9 million to 17 groups. (See the list of grant recipients below or click here to read the attorney general’s release.)

The funds are the result of two recent housing-related settlements by and will be administered and monitored by DHCD. Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosure Prevention, Homeownership, National Mortgage Settlement, Neighborhood Stabilization | Leave a comment