www.marejournal.com
8C — September 25 - October 15, 2015 — Fall Preview — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
D evelopment
By Sam Leone, Conifer Realty, LLC Going mainstream with supportive housing
I
with 16 of the units set-aside for individuals with mental illness. By all measures, the project has been a tremendous success. It serves as a shining example of mainstreaming those with mental illness into the general population and helps address national goals to- wards de-institutionalization. Supportive housing has long had a place within the afford- able housing industry. The affordable housing agencies of every state in the Mid-Atlantic region, and arguably the na- tion, each have some sort of funding priority or set-aside
Jersey, for example, developers that agree to set-aside at least 5 units for the homeless or for the Olmstead population get additional point consideration for 9% tax credits. 9% credit awards are extremely com- petitive, so every developer incorporates this requirement into their projects. The devel- oper partners with a service provider to refer residents that fit the criteria, and then to provide them with the sup- portive services. At the most basic level, pro- grams such as these introduce affordable housing developers
to supportive housing. We agree to set aside the units, and when the units are built, we have helped the State address its goals and objectives for providing supportive housing. With the Springside project, the commitment to provide 16 supportive housing units far exceeded the scoring require- ments for the financing. This is more an example of a grass- roots affordable-supportive housing partnership coming to fruition rather than just an affordable project with a sup- portive component. Why stop there? This year, Conifer partnered with Philadelphia based Inglis Housing Corporation to de- velop 44 affordable apartments in Philadelphia. Inglis Hous- ing Corporation is the hous- ing affiliate of Inglis, a 140 year-old not-for-profit, whose mission is to enable people with disabilities — and those who care for them— to achieve their goals and live life to the fullest. Inglis selected Conifer as its partner to develop and manage these apartments be- cause of Conifer’s strong track record of aligning with the mis- sion of not-for-profits. Twelve of the units dedicated to those with physical disabilities go above and beyond ADA re- quirements. These apartments will feature wider doorways and kitchens, baths and ame- nities that are designed to bet- ter accommodate the needs of someone in a wheelchair. Once again, this project exceeds the scoring consideration require- ments of its funding sources. At Conifer, we continue to expand our focus on supportive housing, above and beyond the funding requirements. People For People Foundation of Gloucester County selected Conifer to help it fulfill its mis- sion to provide affordable hous- ing and services to veterans. The project has tremendous local support, and applications for funding are pending. Historically, lack of rental assistance has made these projects challenging to finance. However, in New Jersey there has recently been increased rollout of supportive housing vouchers. This is great news for Conifer and our mission driven partners as we collec- tively strive to raise the bar on supportive housing. Sam Leone is the vice president of development at Conifer Realty, LLC. n
n 2014, the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey awarded
Conifer and MEND, Inc. ( M o o r e - stown Ecu- m e n i c a l Neighbor- hood Devel- opment) a “Best Large Scale Sup-
to help address the need for supportive housing. These priorities are an im- portant component in fur- thering the development of supportive housing. In New Springside School Apartments
Sam Leone
portive Housing” Award for our Springside School Apartments project in Burlington Town- ship, NJ. The project consists of 75 affordable apartments,
AT C O N I F E R , W E C O N T I N U E T O D O W H AT W E D O , B E T T E R FULL SERVICE APPROACH
WE OFFER COMMUNITIES BUILT ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS
Conifer is a nationally ranked, full-service real estate company that develops, constructs, owns and manages high-quality, affordable housing communities. Since its inception, Conifer has developed and/or acquired over 220 properties and over 19,000 units. Currently, we own and manage over 14,000 apartment units throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.
w w w . c o n i f e r l l c . c o m 20000 Horizon Way, Suite 180 Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 [ P ] (856)793-2078
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker