Newark’s Hahne & Co. Building, Boston’s Mosaic on the Riverway, and Austin’s Wildflower Terrace were selected by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing as the winners of the 2017 Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award. The annual award, which honors developments that ensure housing affordability for people in a broad range of incomes, is given to developments in which all or a portion of the units are affordable to households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income (AMI).
The three winning projects, chosen by a jury of national housing industry leaders, were recognized September 11 during the Terwilliger Center’s Housing Opportunity Conference in New Orleans. Other finalists were A-Mill Artist Lofts in Minneapolis; Casitas de Colores in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Perris Station Senior Apartment Homes in Perris, California; and Veo in Carson, California.
Details on the winners:
- In 2015, public and private partners crafted a plan to transform the vacant Hahne & Co. department store building into a thriving, modern residential and retail community. A public/private partnership, spearheaded by L+M Development Partners and Prudential Financial Inc., led to the rehabilitation of the 400,000-square-foot (37,000 sq m) building and construction of a 120,000-square-foot (11,200 sq m), nine-story addition. This redevelopment has played a central role in the economic revitalization of downtown Newark. The mixed-use development offers housing, retail space, jobs, and educational opportunities near transit. Its 160 units of housing include 64 units affordable to people earning less than 60 percent of AMI.
- Mosaic on the Riverway, a mixed-income and mixed-tenure development near jobs, addresses a child-care shortage through a 9,000-square-foot (835 sq m) early childhood education center located on the ground floor. The project embodies the spirit of Boston mayor Marty Walsh’s policy to build for all of Boston, providing housing for a wide range of households, from formerly homeless families and first-time homebuyers to doctors looking for a condominium close to work. The project, which earned Silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, includes 145 units—60 are affordable to households earning less than 60 percent of AMI, and 43 are condos for households earning 60 to 120 percent of AMI.
- Wildflower Terrace, a mixed-income apartment community for people age 55 and older, is located in the 700-acre (283 ha) Mueller redevelopment community. The amenity-filled development, which received LEED Silver certification, includes a community activity room with a covered terrace, movie theater, fitness center, art studio, library, laundry facilities, business center, game room, billiards room, and an outdoor courtyard with access to greenways and trails, swimming pools, parks, shopping, and public transportation. It includes 201 units, 171 of which are affordable to households earning less than 60 percent of AMI, three for those earning 60 to 120 percent of AMI, and 27 market-rate units.
“This year’s winners honor the spirit of Jack Kemp and reflect his signature qualities of compassion for others, pragmatic efficiency, and entrepreneurial spirit in meeting the housing needs of all America’s citizens,” said jury chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing and a former ULI chairman.
ULI established the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award in 2008, naming the award in memory of Jack Kemp, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and ULI Terwilliger Center national advisory board member. The award is given annually to affordable and workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including affordability, innovative financing and building technologies, proximity to employment centers and transportation hubs, quality of design, involvement of public/private partnerships, and replicability of the development, among other criteria.
One goal in establishing the ULI Kemp Award program was to show the critical role that housing plays in achieving economic prosperity and a high quality of life, both for individuals and communities, Terwilliger said. “If a family is constantly worried about housing, then being healthy, getting educated, and staying employed is never much of an option. A family with a stable housing situation is a family with a chance. Housing is the foundation from which everything else takes root.”
“Mixed-income housing is a good business and good for communities,” added Stockton Williams, ULI executive vice president for content and executive director of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing. “These award-winning developments reflect the innovation and leadership that have characterized the ULI Kemp Award since its inception.”
The winners were selected according to each project’s ability to meet affordable and workforce housing needs in their communities. The 2017 Jack Kemp Award jury members were Terwilliger; Victoria Davis, president, Urban Atlantic; Hal Ferris, principal, Spectrum Development; Gadi Kaufmann, managing director and chief executive officer, RCLCO; Alazne Solis, president and chief executive officer, Make Room USA; and Margaret Wylde, chief executive officer, Pro Matura Group.
