12 Reasons Why 2024 Was a Year to Cheer
A look back on people, projects, and events that brought us hope, joy, and gratitude.
Local communities built climate resiliency.
No, they’re not sounds you make after drinking a carbonated beverage. GRRP and CREP are federally funded programs that can help communities address energy efficiency and climate resiliency. With our clients we leveraged GRRP funds to energy-retrofit the Smith Tower senior housing community in Vancouver and used a CREP grant to install a solar array and battery storage system at the Gloria Center (see below) in The Dalles. These funding wins are benefiting vulnerable community members, while leading the way to bring more climate-resiliency investments to our region.
At left: Fifty-eight-year-old Smith Tower, undergoing preservation by Manor Management, can look forward to enjoying many more decades of useful and energy-efficient life. (Photo courtesy of MWA Architects.)
Our partners placed four high-impact developments in service.
With support from HDC project managers… Salem Housing Authority leased up 60 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units to people exiting homelessness at Sequoia Crossings in Salem. Mercy Housing Northwest opened 100 affordable homes and PSH units to families and individuals at Mercy Greenbrae in Lake Oswego. Northwest Coastal Housing completed construction of 11 more homes at the Blackberry Hill Apartments in Toledo. Mid-Columbia Community Action Council and its service partners opened their doors to clients living in Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties at the Gloria Center.
At right: The Blackberry Hill Apartments offers preference to veterans at risk of homelessness. (Photograph by Jason Kaplan, courtesy Capri Architecture.)
Oregon asset managers enrolled in a new online training program, plus…
Question: What’s better than earning your Asset Management Specialist (AMS) certificate? Answer: Earning it with the support of HDC’s Kimberly Taylor and a regional cohort of peers. That’s the “plus” in AMS+ Oregon, a 2024 training program that empowered 29 participants grow their asset management knowledge and skills. Its success pushed HDC and our Baltimore-based partner and program sponsor, Consortium for Housing and Asset Management (CHAM), to open enrollment for AMS+ West Coast.
Culturally specific housing providers voiced ideas for structural capacity-building solutions.
With support from HDC’s asset management team, four housing organizations serving Latinx, Native, and immigrant communities—the pilot cohort of the Housing Equity Capacity Building Strategy program—met throughout 2024. Participants identified systems barriers to organizational growth and portfolio longevity and posed potential solutions. Convening funders joined to listen and learn. The work surfaced collective insights and laid groundwork for a continuing conversation.
Our project teams demonstrated excellence in affordable housing development.
They poured their hearts into improving outcomes for people and communities in Oregon. The teams behind Yaquina Hall, Centennial Place, Harvey Rice Heritage, Colonia Paz II, and Good Shepherd Village were recognized with local and national honors in 2024. Their praiseworthy achievements ranged from high-impact historic preservation to community-engaged design.
At left: Our friends at Salem Housing Authority accepted the Novogradac award for Historic Rehabilitation Residential Development That Best Exemplifies Major Community Impact.
We learned together—and added resources to HDC’s free training library.
Every year, HDC staff take time outside their regular duties to show up in force at the Housing Oregon conference, Oregon’s biggest affordable housing event. For our team, it’s a chance to learn, network, and advance our mission by responding to our partners’ information needs. This year, HDC staff led training sessions and panel discussions packed with practical insights and tips on crafting an early financial pro forma, developing operationally resilient properties, and other topics. Recordings are available year-round on our website and Housing Oregon’s YouTube channel.
An OCF impact investment gave HDC Community Fund borrowers more access to capital.
HDC Community Fund’s flexible short-term loans help affordable housing developments in Oregon and southwest Washington get off the ground and leverage bigger investments. But our lending team can’t meet this need without the partnership of mission-aligned investors. This year, an award of $750,000 in low-interest funds from Oregon Community Foundation’s Oregon Impact Fund strengthened HDC Community Fund’s capacity to provide larger-sized loans and to help more of our nonprofit partners achieve their goals.
At left: An HDC Community Fund predevelopment loan helped Northwest Coastal Housing deliver the Golden Eagle II preservation project.
Our asset management team got bigger and better.
With Natalie Thornton on board, our asset management team has more creativity and know-how than ever to support our clients’ needs—and enough people to play foursquare for the first time in history. Natalie brings direct experience overseeing the housing portfolios of multiple local nonprofit owners. Learn more about Natalie and what motivates her to do this work.
Seven Oregon project teams boosted their readiness to support people exiting homelessness.
The Oregon Supportive Housing Institute empowers owner-developers to use available resources and best practices to support housing stability for people experiencing homelessness. HDC’s Shauna Childress and Julie Proksch participated in the five-month training program as members of New Narrative’s Henry Street Apartments team and Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon’s Alyssa Daye Gardens team. (Our staff have participated in every cohort since the program was launched in 2018.) With five other Oregon teams, they emerged better prepared to achieve their project goals.
At left: A family served by Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon’s programs.
The RLRA Risk Mitigation Program delivered on its promise.
RLRA vouchers help cover rent costs for individuals and families at high risk of homelessness in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. Since 2023 the RLRA Risk Mitigation Program, administered by HDC, has offered financial incentives to make it easier for landlords and tenants to make use of RLRA vouchers. We saw a big uptick in awareness and usage of the Risk Mitigation Program in 2024—a win for RLRA voucher holders and for everyone who cares about ending homelessness in our region.
Our champion PAMWG team fostered collaboration and peer learning.
Every month on Zoom, the HDC-facilitated Property and Asset Management Working Group (PAMWG) connects asset managers from 35+ housing authorities and affordable housing organizations across Oregon. PAMWG’s leaders, HDC’s Liz Winchester and Kimberly Taylor (KT), are dedicated to building asset management capacity and excellence. They were recognized for their valued efforts this year with Housing Oregon’s Asset Champion Award.
Our clients did inspiring work.
Nothing brings us joy and gratitude more than working with our amazing clients—people and organizations who pursue life-changing, history-bending missions with creativity and determination. In 2024, we had the privilege to provide development and asset management services to more than 30 community-based housing providers. Check out the full list, and see our special shout-outs to our housing authority and rural partners.
