Clearly, the Potashniks take the long-term maintenance and management of their properties seriously. After working so hard to create superior affordable projects, the last thing Brian Potashnik wants is to be seen as a slumlord, he says. “I hope someday that my kids can look at these buildings and be proud of them.”
Southwest Housing Inc. at a Glance
- Founded: 1993
- Headquarters: Dallas
- Employees: 360
- Revenue: Undisclosed
- Units started 2004: 1,427
- Units projected for 2005: 2,500
- Units in pipeline: 1,000 units plus retail and single-family projects
- Geographic coverage: Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona
- Revenue sources: Developer, contractor and property management fees, and project cash flow
Leadership Lessons Brian Potashnik, president of Southwest Housing
- Age: 46
- First Job: Tax advantage specialist for Merrill Lynch
- Hobbies: Raising his 6- and 7-year-old sons
- Greatest Strength: The ability to wear many hats. “I am just as comfortable on a construction site or out on a property talking to a resident as I am in the boardroom.”
- Best Business Decision: To not lose focus on the company’s core business of affordable housing. “Anybody who looks at our company can see that every property we own has an affordable housing component to it.”
- Big Challenge: Balancing the daily struggle of doing good versus making money. “I’ve got Mother Theresa on one side of the brain and Bill Gates on the other.”
Six Strategies to Fight Nimbyism Brian and Cheryl Potashnik know a thing or two about overcoming NIMBY obstacles. Just ask Paul Hilgers, who recalls how Southwest Housing somehow salvaged a tax-credit deal in one Austin, Texas, neighborhood that was adamantly against affordable housing. “Lo and behold, they got the neighborhood to support them,” says an amazed Hilgers, director of neighborhood housing for the city of Austin.
Just how is the company able to win such tough NIMBY battles? Here are the Potashniks’ top six strategies:
- Dispel the myths of affordable housing from the get-go by building a top-quality product that you can’t differentiate from market-rate housing.
- Take neighbors on a tour of other successful affordable communities you’ve completed, so they can see how your project will enhance the neighborhood.
- Numbers speak volumes. Collect statistics on everything from residents’ test scores to home values, to prove that your property will not bring down school test scores and will not depreciate home values.
- If you can’t get an affordable family project approved, build senior housing if possible. Communities are generally more accepting of affordable senior housing.
- Appease neighbors by adding a market-rate or retail component to an affordable project.
- An affordable project’s impact on schools ranks high on the list of NIMBY concerns. Explain to the superintendent or school trustees that your community monitors school attendance and offers after-school tutoring, computer labs, and more.