Mark Fogarty Author Archives

It would be nice if affordable multifamily housing could be financed all in one shot, but it never is.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program was a big idea: to raise money to rehabilitate crumbling old public housing properties by raising private equity and converting the buildings into project-based Section 8 developments.

“Failure to launch” is a term sometimes used to describe young people who haven’t yet found their place in adult life.

The sound environment around a housing project can be a great addition to the amenities of a property – or an albatross around its neck.

Belongó. It’s an evocative term, containing not only the English word “belong” but a Cuban one meaning to cast a spell.

Faith-based affordable housing development is on the rise, and a good example of it can be found in Tacoma, WA where Shiloh Baptist Church is turning two parcels of land it owns into 60 units of housing for vulnerable populations.

Since the Briscoe School in Beverly, MA was a functioning educational facility as recently as 2018, it is likely that at least some of the seniors soon to be living in its adaptive reuse as housing will have memories of learning the Three Rs there (reading, wRiting and aRithmetic).

For those in affordable housing considering their legacies, there is the example of Philip Freelon to consider.

Charles Dickens’ character Scrooge defined British attitudes towards housing the poor in the 19th century with a dismissive “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”

There’s a brave new world of opportunities for “green” multifamily affordable housing renovation and development coming with the ever-quickening ascendancy of green buildings.

Sustainability has become a key concept for affordable housing, charging to the forefront of the industry in recent years, and it’s not just because climate change is mandating the most efficient energy usage at projects.

 A project under construction now in Denver will provide 56 affordable apartments for formerly homeless young adults aged 18 to 24, as well as those “aging out” of foster care.