Affordable Change In some ways, management on the opposite end of Habitat’s business spectrum is more challenging, says Woodworth. “[In] our public housing management, we have taken over some of the toughest buildings from the Chicago Housing Authority [CHA] and cleaned them up, upgrading the mechanical systems and training the staff, and really turned the buildings around,” he says.
In public housing redevelopment, the process is not as cut and dry as simply making improvements. There’s more public process involved, and it’s a much longer and more complicated process, says Woodworth. “You’re involved with the city, with the Chicago Housing Authority, with the existing residents, and with the neighborhood and community groups.” But, whether the process is quick or lengthy, the company is as proud of its work with affordable and public housing as it is of its luxury properties.
“Nobody at Habitat treats [affordable housing] like affordable housing – they treat it like every other development they have. Some of their buildings have 20 percent [dedicated to] Section 8 [units] … I walk [those] units and they’re indistinguishable from the rest of the units on that property,” says Linda Thurmond, director of asset management at the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
In addition to quality products and service, Habitat displays a long-term commitment to creating and maintaining affordable solutions. A prime example is a scattered site rehab property, comprised of 10 buildings, which Habitat acquired in the early 1980s and redeveloped.
The neighborhood surrounding that property has solidified and become gentrified, says Thurmond. While Habitat could change the buildings to a market-rate development and increase its profits, the company has instead lengthened its commitment to maintaining the area’s quality affordable housing. “That’s the type of developer they are. They’re committed to the property, to keeping it affordable,” says Thurmond.
In addition to managing low- and mixed-income housing, Levin and Habitat, as receiver, oversaw the CHA’s Scattered Sites program, which developed infill housing in non-minority neighborhoods. The receivership, granted in 1989, led into the company’s participation in the city’s Hope VI redevelopment program to replace older public housing apartments with new housing. Habitat also manages a significant portion of the St. Louis Housing Authority’s public housing portfolio, says Woodworth.
Affordable development can be a complicated process, but Habitat hasn’t encountered much opposition. In the case of the Scattered Sites development program, the new buildings have been carefully integrated into the fabric of each individual neighborhood and have provided housing for neighborhood residents.
“There’s not an overconcentration [of affordable development] in any one area, and it’s all been privately managed,” says Woodworth. New, private management has contributed to increased acceptance into neighborhoods by removing the stigma of poor public management, he explains.
Habitat’s broad range of management experience allows the company to continually improve its involvement with both market-rate and affordable housing. “[Habitat] sees a project from all sides,” says Thurmond. “[Woodworth] has come up through the ranks, so he has a unique perspective that most developers don’t have. He knows what it takes to run a property, to clean it, keep it in working order, make sure the systems run, etc. He knows it from the inside out and that affects his approach to development,” she says.
And, whether it’s developing luxury condos or public housing, Habitat loves developing homes. “We enjoy the development process, the creation of housing, the creation of value. You can enhance or create value through acquisition, but it’s more fulfilling [for us] to develop from the ground up,” says Woodworth.