Columbus, OH. Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Community leaders, social service providers and policymakers all agree that stable housing plays a key role in the success and overall quality of life for individuals. With a focus on leveraging housing as a platform to ensure access to social services opportunities for low-income families, National Affordable Housing Trust (NAHT) is proud to announce the closing of The Washington at Woodlawn Park. NAHT closed on the property in partnership with Goldman Sachs Bank and Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).
Equity financing for the recapitalization of The Washington at Woodlawn Park is provided by the Strong Families Fund (SFF). SFF uses a Pay for Success model to integrate Resident Service Coordination (RSC) into the development plan. This model requires the collection and analysis of impact outcomes of the RSC efforts with residents of The Washington at Woodlawn Park.
The Strong Families Fund is a ten-year initiative of the Kresge Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), The Community Development Trust (CDT), Goldman Sachs, and NAHT. The purpose of SFF is to stimulate and support innovate strategies to design, deliver, and measure the impact of Resident Service Coordination for families. The long term goal is to identify new and sustainable funding models and strategic partnerships to support the delivery of effective RSC that expands service opportunities available for residents.
Prior to the launch of the Strong Families Fund, SAHF began the Outcomes Initiative to demonstrate the impact on residents when integrating services into stable affordable housing. By providing access to support services, SAHF members have proven that service-enriched housing offers opportunities to residents that increases the success of children in school and improves their overall health and financial welfare.
“NAHT is honored to partner with Goldman Sachs, Kresge Foundation, Preservation of Affordable Housing, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in our Strong Families Fund. The unique and powerful partnership combines the low income housing tax credit syndication proceeds with a pay for success model to provide long term funding for resident service coordination that is available for all residents and families at The Washington at Woodlawn Park community” stated Merydith Greene, NAHT VP, Senior Originations Officer.
“The Strong Families Fund recognizes that an affordable home is the foundation to provide a family with the economic security to break the cycle of poverty,” said Margaret Anadu, Goldman Sachs Managing Director and head of the Urban Investment Group. “The quality rental housing being financed also provides service coordination for residents with the goal of improving healthcare access, financial literacy and educational attainment, further demonstrating the important role affordable housing can play in improving the overall well-being of low-income families.”
The Washington at Woodlawn Park comprises 196 apartment homes in sixteen buildings throughout the historical neighborhoods of Woodlawn and Washington Park. It is owned and managed by POAH, and is a part of POAH’s revitalization of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood into a vibrant, healthy and attractive mixed-use/mixed-income urban community combining distinctive residential, commercial and recreational structures, which will drive the economic revitalization of Chicago’s Woodlawn community just south of the University of Chicago.
“The Washington at Woodlawn Park is central to our success in the Woodlawn community. In addition to providing quality housing for a range of incomes, the 16 buildings represent investments that are stabilizing key neighborhood blocks. NAHT’s commitment to this work and our mission here is enormously valuable.” stated Bill Eager, POAH VP, Chicago Area.
NAHT believes that affordable multifamily housing coupled with supportive service coordination can serve as the foundation to achieve success for low income families. Through the Strong Families Fund, NAHT and its partners will not only improve residents’ lives, but will use the reported outcomes to examine housing as both an economic and social investment; and to help shape future public policies and programs.
NAHT has provided low income housing tax credit syndication and development advisory services for over thirty years with a focus on finding creative ways to provide sources of capital for SAHF Member and other Non Profit Developer projects and initiatives. The Strong Families Fund is an example of this effort to innovate, and NAHT is proud to bring a project like The Washington at Woodlawn Park to market.
For media inquiries, contact Heather Holland