The Boston Home - Harmon Apartments

Formerly an abandoned bowling alley, Energy Square (E2) is a single five-story net-zero-for-living development that provides 57 rental apartments in Kingston, NY. E2 dedicates 29 units to households earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) including seven ESSHI (Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative) units, nine units for special needs, seven for homeless young adults (18-25) and two for homeless persons with rents set at 30 percent AMI. Nine apartments are reserved for households at 90 percent AMI. Preference is given to persons waitlisted for subsidized housing and whose current housing fails to meet basic standards of health and safety.

E2 provides five fully accessible units: three adapted for persons with mobility impairment and two for hearing- or vision-impaired individuals. Support services are offered for financial literacy, employment readiness, and accessing health, mental health, and substance abuse services. The building features first-floor commercial and community service facility space with two elevators and an exterior greenspace. E2 achieved LEED Platinum certification and net zero through geothermal wells, solar, and building design.

This 2020 AHF Readers' Choice Awards Finalist in the Green Category was developed by Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO), and NEF invested $12 million in LIHTC equity.

In 2020, Freedom Village at West Windsor opened in Princeton, New Jersey as a beautiful 72-unit affordable housing community that supports residents with disabilities. This development provides homes for moderate income families and individuals who earn between 50-80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).  

About 45 percent of residents in the community live with developmental and mental health disabilities, and 18 apartments are set aside for individuals in need. Specifically, 10 units are reserved for residents who are currently receiving services for developmental disabilities through their individual providers. Rents for these set-aside units are all paid for by the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities while rent for eight units reserved for mental health consumers receiving agency services are paid for by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The remaining 54 units are available for individuals and families without disabilities. While showcasing their mission, Project Freedom provides a 100 percent barrier free convenience with accessible wheelchairs and social service providers.  

Freedom Village at Windsor brings together neighborhoods through easy access to transportation, high-quality education and job opportunities in the surrounding areas. The developer worked to meet LEED Silver equivalent efficiency, minimizing water usage while creating healthy and efficient cost-saving buildings and minimal usage of heating and cooling sources.  

With Project Freedom as the developer, NEF invested over $13.2 million in LIHTC equity. 

Milwaukee Soldiers Home is the preservation of 101-unit apartments on the grounds of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee. Eighty of the development’s homes are in Old Main, which was constructed in 1867 as a place of recuperation for Civil War soldiers as they transitioned back into society as part of one of the last pieces of legislation signed by President Lincoln. Today, six historic buildings on the Milwaukee Soldiers Home grounds, including a National Historic Landmark, have been rehabilitated and returned to their original purpose, the service of veterans. The development also serves families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

Rents are affordable to households earning between 30-50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) and all receive 30-year Project Based VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) rental subsidy vouchers from the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM).

Milwaukee Soldiers Home is one of the first developments in the nation and the first in Wisconsin financed with a hybrid structure using 4% and 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).

All residents of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home have access to a range of supportive services, provided on-site by the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center HUDVASH program. Services include care coordination, job training and employment assistance, help with benefits coordination and peer-to-peer counseling.

The property’s extensive rehabilitation was spearheaded by The Alexander Company. NEF invested nearly $15 million of LIHTC equity into the development. 

Milwaukee Soldiers Home won the 2021 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the Housing for Veterans of the Armed Forces category and Affordable Housing Finance (AHF) Reader’s Choice Award in the Historic Rehab category.

Completed in Fall 2022, 1064 Mission Street is now San Francisco’s largest permanent supportive housing community. With 256 new affordable homes, residents can experience a service-enriched community in the middle of San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood. Mercy Housing California (MHC) and Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco (ECS) worked together closely on the development of 1064 Mission Street to play a small, but vital part in the battle to end homelessness.

While new, affordable homes were crucial to the development, co-developers and City of San Francisco partners also placed a large focus was placed on providing critical services to enhance the lives of people who have experienced homelessness, an issue that runs rampant in one of the nation’s most expensive cities. The focus on tailored services resulted in the creation of the new Maria X. Martinez Health Resource Center, operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. On-site clinical, case management, and in-home care services are also provided by ECS, St. Anthony Foundation, and Homebridge.

1064 Mission Street is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban category.

Mason Place is a new 60-unit permanent supportive housing development in Fort Collins, CO. Formerly a movie theatre building, this community combines beautiful design, livability, and sustainability with comprehensive on-site supportive services to promote self-reliance for formerly homeless individuals and veterans. The property includes 60 fully furnished apartments, 100 percent focused on formerly homeless individuals earning less than 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 10 units reserved for veterans with VASH vouchers.

The trauma-informed design provides safety, comfort, privacy, and security to residents. Its prime location is pedestrian and bicycle friendly, close to a central transit corridor, and near grocery stores, healthcare, and restaurants. The high-density development (38 units/acre) is designed for health and sustainability with low-flow fixtures, energy efficient lighting, ENERGY STAR appliances, and low water landscaping -- in accordance with Enterprise Green Communities standards. Amenities include a laundry lounge on each floor, a medical room, indoor and outdoor community space, and dedicated office space for service providers. Mason Place won an Eagle Award in 2022 and was a 2021 AHF Readers' Choice Awards Finalist in the Special-Needs category.

Housing Catalyst developed this community, and NEF invested nearly $12 million of LIHTC equity into this development.

Located in Detroit’s Piety Hill Neighborhood, the Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center (REC Center) is a mixed-use development that offers 43 units of permanent supportive housing for LGBTQ+ youth (age 18-24) experiencing homelessness, addressing a critical need for a particularly vulnerable population. The development consists of 32 studio and 11 one-bedroom apartments located on floors 2-4, above the first-floor commercial space. Eight units are affordable to tenants at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The development is named after Ruth Ellis, a pioneering LGBTQ+ Detroit citizen who offered shelter and support to the city’s LGBTQ+ population. 

Communal amenities feature a resource library, technology center, community kitchen, salon and art studio. On-site supportive services are run through Henry Ford Health and include primary care, mental health counseling, comprehensive sexual health services, PrEP and HIV treatment, gender-affirming hormone therapies and more. Despite the critical focus and tailored services for LGBTQ+ youth, all prospective residents looking for a home are welcomed, even if they are not members of the LGBTQ+ community.

National Equity Fund invested $13.8 million of LIHTC equity in the Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center in partnership with sponsors Full Circle Communities Inc. and the Ruth Ellis Center.

Mamook Tokatee offers 55 units of affordable housing in Portland’s Cully neighborhood. The development’s name is a Chinook Wawa phrase for “make beautiful,” which highlights the main purpose for this development: to support Native artists who are revered as Native culture keepers. Community Development Partners and Native American Youth and Family Center combined efforts to provide ample space for Native community programs and art creation through Mamook Tokatee. There are 11 units with a preference for artists and 20 units reserved for Native tenants with a priority for Siletz tribal members. The remaining 24 units prioritize other federally recognized tribal members. Residents and artists can remain in Portland and connect with their community and culture without worrying about gentrification and the risk of homelessness. 

Once a vacant parking lot, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center unites shelter, food, and services in one affordable and supportive housing complex in Berkeley, California. BRIDGE Housing and Insight Housing (formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project) worked together to make this inspiring venture a reality. Between the two buildings, there are 89 affordable apartments, 53 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, 12 transitional housing units for veterans, and 32 emergency shelter beds. The Hope Center has a ground-floor community kitchen with the shelter and veterans housing and PSH units above it.

The community of Berkeley aims to support individuals coming out of homelessness at 15 and 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Both developments benefit from the Section 8 subsidy. The city has been granted to improve the transportation system regarding bicycle connection, bus stop upgrades, and zero emissions. Along with convenient access to Berkeley’s BART transit and bus services, residents have plentiful employment opportunities in downtown Berkeley.

Together, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban Category.

Once a vacant parking lot, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center unites shelter, food, and services in one affordable and supportive housing complex in Berkeley, California. BRIDGE Housing and Insight Housing (formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project) worked together to make this inspiring venture a reality. Between the two buildings, there are 89 affordable apartments, 53 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, 12 transitional housing units for veterans, and 32 emergency shelter beds. The Hope Center has a ground-floor community kitchen with the shelter and veterans housing and PSH units above it.

The community of Berkeley aims to support individuals coming out of homelessness at 15 and 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Both developments benefit from the Section 8 subsidy. The city has been granted to improve the transportation system regarding bicycle connection, bus stop upgrades, and zero emissions. Along with convenient access to Berkeley’s BART transit and bus services, residents have plentiful employment opportunities in downtown Berkeley.

Together, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban Category.