Development Teams, Subject Matter Experts, Local Leaders and Former West Calumet Residents collaborate at Moving Forward 3.0 Workshop in East Chicago
November 15, 2017 (EAST CHICAGO) – Two Midwest-based developers and their teams
completed an intensive two-day workshop today at the former Carrie Gosch
Elementary School in East Chicago, Ind. as part of the Moving Forward 3.0
Program. Miller-Valentine Group (MVG) and UP Development worked closely with subject matter experts, local leaders and former
residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex in the workshop, which served as
the next step in providing two new affordable housing developments in Lake
County.
The Moving Forward 3.0 workshop, organized by Energy Systems Network (ESN) and hosted
by the Indiana Housing and
Community Development Authority (IHCDA), kickstarts
the process for MVG and UP Development in taking a systems-level approach to
solving the challenges of affordable housing and transportation by considering
the development as an integrated system rather than isolated elements.
The purpose of the
workshop is to encourage innovative thinking by collaborating with national
experts, convened by ESN, to share the latest strategies in energy efficient
building design, transportation models, and poverty alleviation practices and
services – all with an eye toward improving quality of life for residents. As
such, including the voice of the customer in the workshop process was a
critical aspect of this year’s program.
“It was important for us, and the two developers, to work
this week not only with experts from across the country but with former
residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex,” said Jacob Sipe, executive director
of IHCDA. “This is their community and their perspective, and feedback will be
critical to ensuring these new developments meet the needs of individuals in
search of affordable housing in Lake County.”
At the conclusion of the workshop, the
development teams applied their learnings in a design exercise, incorporating
them into a high-level design for two sample sites. These designs were shared
with local leaders and state agencies.
”Energy and transportation technologies are
changing at a rapid pace,” said Paul
Mitchell, president and CEO of ESN. “This workshop process helps developers of
affordable housing understand new trends to integrate into their design plans
in ways that will lower costs and provide high quality of life for residents.
As we are entering our third year of this program, we are also benefitting from
some best practices, such as net-zero energy designs and car sharing systems.”
In February, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued an Executive Order for
Declaration of Disaster Emergency in East Chicago. One of his requests in this
order was for IHCDA to find ways to encourage the new development of affordable
rental housing in the East Chicago area. To do so, IHCDA elected to use the
state’s Moving Forward program.
“We are pleased to continue efforts to identify and encourage the financing of new development for affordable rental housing in and around East Chicago,” said Governor Eric Holcomb in a May 2017 statement. “The Moving Forward program affords us the unique opportunity to bring two energy efficient affordable housing developments to Lake County.”
MVG
and UP Development will spend the next 12 months identifying a site for their
affordable housing developments within Lake County and creating a detailed
design plan that follows the goals outlined in the workshop. In the fall of
2018, the developers will be able to submit Rental Housing Tax Credit (RHTC)
applications of up to $750,000 each under the General Set-aside* next year.
Following the awarding of tax credits, construction is expected to be
approximately a 12-month process with a grand opening anticipated in late 2019.
The Moving Forward program currently has four affordable
housing developments in progress across the state: Fort Wayne, Bloomington,
Indianapolis and Lafayette. BWI, LLC broke ground on its development in Fort
Wayne, Posterity Scholar House, in September 2017.
Click here for more information about the Moving Forward Program. Click here for additional information and updates regarding the Disaster Emergency in
East Chicago.
*Per the 2018-19 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), IHCDA will
reserve 10% of its RHTC for the IHCDA General Set-aside. Under this set-aside,
IHCDA reserves credits for developments that further the Authority’s mission,
goals, initiatives, and priorities irrespective of the ranking by evaluation
factors. The QAP states that the Authority will exercise its sole discretion in
the allocation of the IHCDA General Set-aside.
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IHCDA, chaired by Lt.
Governor Suzanne Crouch, provides housing opportunities, promotes self-sufficiency and
strengthens communities in order to build an Indiana with a sustainable quality
of life for all Hoosiers in the community of their choice. For more
information, visit www.ihcda.in.gov or www.in.gov/myihcda.
Energy
Systems Network (ESN) is a non-profit focused on growing the advanced energy
technology sector. ESN is building an energy ecosystem that integrates all
aspects of the energy landscape: energy generation, distribution, the built
environment, and transportation. ESN leverages its network of global thought
leaders to develop integrated energy solutions to increase quality of life for
today and tomorrow. The collective focus is to: reduce costs, emissions, and
waste; influence policy; and advance technological innovation. For more
information, visit www.energysystemsnetwork.com.
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