From L-R: Jair Lynch, President of LOCUS, Angela Mingo, Community Relations Director at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Christopher Coes, Director of LOCUS. Ms. Mingo accepts the 2019 Richard Baron Affordable Housing Award on behalf of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Community Development for All People.
5. Tell us your thoughts on how LOCUS is important to the smart growth movement. A coalition like LOCUS plays a crucial role in the smart growth movement because it provides a unique platform for advocacy. Practitioners often lack voice and action through other industry organizations, making LOCUS essential for representing and pushing forward the interests of those committed to smart, sustainable development.
6. Is there a single real estate project you have worked on that comes to mind as reflective of the goals of LOCUS? Our work in reimagining Barcroft Apartments, a 60-acre naturally occurring affordable housing community in Arlington, Virginia, brings together both our market-rate and affordable housing expertise in an effort to create sustainable outcomes. By leveraging Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) for the preservation of affordability for over 1,300 homes, alongside traditional debt and institutional equity for an additional 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use development, we’ve crafted a comprehensive approach to sustainable development that will provide housing stability and opportunities for prosperity for a significant part of the Arlington community. This strategy not only promotes equitable outcomes but also closely aligns with LOCUS’s mission of fostering inclusive and sustainable communities.
7. Looking to the future, what specific initiatives or pieces of legislation do you hope LOCUS will prioritize to continue its impact and influence in promoting sustainable and walkable development? Looking ahead, I hope LOCUS will focus on initiatives and legislation that enhance the efficiency and impact of sustainable and walkable environments. A key priority should be the more efficient execution of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This includes addressing and eliminating the “bond burning” issue by advocating for a move from the 50 percent test to the 30 percent test, which would greatly improve the program’s effectiveness.
Additionally, a significant challenge and opportunity lies in making housing tax credits, both for low-income and middle-income brackets, portable in a manner similar to historic tax credits. By shifting these credits from the ownership stack to the capital stack, we can make these programs more attractive to institutional investors. This shift would not only facilitate dramatic growth in the programs but also ensure a broader and more impactful engagement of institutional capital in promoting sustainable environments. These strategic focuses could significantly amplify LOCUS’s influence in shaping a future where walkable and sustainable communities are the norm.
8. Do you have any advice for the next President of LOCUS that will help them to continue to push the coalition forward? Be patient but persistent. The journey towards meaningful change is not a straight line and requires steadfast commitment. With persistence and patience, overcoming obstacles and achieving goals becomes possible.