Fannie Mae reached out to the community at large to gauge creative solutions for the housing crisis. Their mission is to “create housing opportunities that are safe, sustainable, and affordable, while managing risk to protect lenders, homeowners, and taxpayers”.
To engage the community, they launched the Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, which received hundreds of proposals for their Phase 1 of the Innovation Challenge. Three contract awardees were chosen for their proposals:
Each proposal focused on the expansion of affordable housing development and onsite healthcare workforce training, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) development as an affordable housing option for residents in renovating neighborhoods, and transforming vacant commercial properties into affordable housing with business incubators for entrepreneurs to boost economic activity and jobs in low-income communities.
Both Navicore Solutions and Marco Villegas received a special recognition spotlight for their unique and innovative proposals. Navicore Solutions suggested a model that would bundle employment services, financial education and coaching, and support programs under one roof.
Marco Villegas, the only individual to receive special recognition, suggested an online platform to connect low-income residents with jobs available through a network of landlords seeking employees to perform maintenance work on their properties. It’s a closed-network model intended to create a community that builds trust and thrives together.
Mr. Villegas owns and manages 21 low-income apartment units in the Bronx, New York, and says he is committed to creating healthy communities for low-income tenants. Fannie Mae posted that Mr. Villegas has “run a profitable business, while avoiding displacing or increasing rents for current tenants, and regularly employs tenants for maintenance and construction work.”
We love what Fannie Mae has started here. We share the same mission in generating affordable housing solutions and there were definitely some great ideas brought to the table.