After years of holding to the perception that green building and affordable housing don’t necessarily go hand in hand, nonprofit housing developers are now beginning to create the best possible scenario for low income homeowners and renters- high quality, energy efficient, affordable homes.

To assist our nonprofit partners in going green, three years ago LISC and The Home Depot Foundation joined forces to create the Healthy and Efficient Neighborhood Homes Partnership. The primary goal of the partnership is to integrate green building principles and materials into affordable housing, thereby lowering utility costs for low income homeowners/ renters and improving the overall indoor air quality.

In summer 2007, DC LISC was awarded a third consecutive grant from The Home Depot Foundation to invest directly into the production of green affordable housing units. This most recent grant will be used to green the rehabilitation of Kara House, a 13-unit affordable apartment building in Columbia Heights (pictured left) recently purchased by itstenants association and being redeveloped by Mi Casa.

Specific green features will include low-E and argon filled windows, efficient hot water heaters, low impact durable flooring, Energy Star appliances, and high efficiency heating and air conditioning.

To date, LISC has invested $130,000 from the Home Depot Foundation directly into the production of 37 green affordable units in Washington, DC. These represent some of the first affordable green units in the City - all of which were rehabilitation projects. Grant funds were used to cover the incremental cost of going green- which has been on average 2-3% of development costs.

LISC/ Home Depot Funded Green Affordable Housing Projects

Developer	Address	Unit count	Neighborhood
Manna	320 K St NE	2	Capital Hill
Manna	345 Oakdale St NW	9	LeDroit Park
Manna	3125 Mt. Pleasant St NW	12	Mt. Pleasant
Mi Casa	1634 Kramer St NE	1	Trinidad
Mi Casa	1424 Spring Hill Rd NW	13	Columbia Heights

These investments also helped nonprofit developers get ahead of the curve on green development as the City recently passed some of the most forward thinking green building legislation in the Country - mandating certain levels of green in commercial properties and all city-funded projects by Fall 2008. Virtually all of our nonprofit housing developers rely on city funds to make their projects work, so this legislation will have a direct impact.

As for the benefit to the low income homeowner or renter? Just ask Jaime Caballero, a first time homebuyer at Manna’s green condominium project at 320 K Street NE. “It is amazing! My utility bill this summer is around $30/ month even using the AC and keeping my place nice and cool. I am really thrilled with it, it is incredible!” Similarly sized units easily cost 2-3 times more per month to cool or heat. For people with lower or fixed incomes, that cost savings is critical. Green properties also provide better indoor air quality, benefiting people with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

We look forward to a continued strong partnership with the Home Depot Foundation and are grateful for their support.

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LISC Recognizes Three Outstanding Community Leaders at 6th Annual Arthur Flemming Community Leadership Awards

May 10 - Over 120 guests, sponsors, nonprofit partners, and community members gathered at the DC Housing Finance Agency for LISC's 2007 Arthur Flemming Community Leadership Awards Celebration.

The ceremony honored three community leaders for their outstanding contributions to their neighborhoods. The program featured remarks by DC LISC's nonprofit partners who nominated the recipients, videos documenting the work of the recipients, and brief remarks from the recipients who were presented with stipends generously provided by Bank of America.

Pictured Above : 2007 Award Recipients from left: Brenda Aviles, Marshall Phillips, and Jackie Ward. Click HERE for more pictures from the event. Click HERE for more information about the awardees and previous recipients.

This year Washington, DC LISC selected three recipient s whose work touches the lives of residents in very different parts of the city. Brenda Aviles of the Columbia Heights neighborhood, this year’s recipient of the Emerging Leader Award, was honored for her work as a mentor to young women who face challenges ranging from truancy, to gang involvement and domestic violence.

Jackie Ward of the Hillsdale neighborhood was given the Outstanding Service Award for her work as an environmentalist, community activist, school volunteer, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

Marshall Phillips from the Edgewood neighborhood was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his 25 year long effort to rid his neighborhood of drugs and violence and his commitment to make the community safe for the children and families of Edgewood.

With reception performances by DC’s Finest the Doo Wop Cops and Kojo Nnamdi as the Master of Ceremonies, the 2007 Arthur Flemming Awards was the first in a year long series of events hosted by Washington, DC LISC to celebrate its 25th Anniversary.

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Robert Rubin, Chair of the Board of Trustees of LISC Discusses the Work of LISC

CNN took footage of some DC LISC projects: THE ARC, Latin American Youth Center Art House, Plaza 8 and The Atlas Performing Arts Center for an interview with Robert Rubin on CNN's Paula Zahn Now Show. The interview aired March 22nd. Click here to view the CNN Archive of the Interview .

Column by Neil Peirce "A Surge of Better News on the Neighborhood Front" Features LISC

A Surge of Better News on the Neighborhood Front
By Neal Peirce
Syndicated Columnist with the Washington Post Writer's Group

Parts of Iraq are in flames, and global warming is threatening to engulf us. But check back in our inner-city neighborhoods, and heartening good news is emerging. One major reason: national non-profit housing financiers are not only channeling very big sums into bricks and mortar, but providing critical assistance on every front from crime prevention to “green” buildings.

Take the Local Initiatives Support Corp., which has marshalled more than $7.5 billion from 3,100 investors and lenders to finance urban projects since the early ‘80s. Last week LISC issued a report showing that in target neighborhoods where it’s active, crime is dropping faster than in comparable areas as new businesses, housing and stores take the place of dangerous blight...

To read the entire article click here.

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What is a Sustainable Community?

At LISC, we are dedicated to creating sustainable communities. This has a nice ring, but what exactly does it mean? The term "sustainable" is used across many industries and can mean different things. In recognition of the potential ambiguity surrounding this term, LISC has created a list of definable, specific characteristics. Not meant to be exhaustive, but rather a set of ideal traits that would be found in a sustainable community.

Click Here for Characteristics of Sustainable Communities

The Harrison Institute for Public Law, A Key LISC Partner in Preserving Affordable Housing

Imagine this scenario: Low income residents of an apartment building in a gentrifying neighborhood get notice that the owner of their building plans to sell. The notice goes on to inform them that they have the first right to purchase the building by matching the sales price and they only have 30 days to file their intent.

Notices like these are common throughout the City, especially over the past several years with the hot real estate market. But for the tenants, confusion, fear and uncertainty set in. Does this mean they have to move? How will they come up with funds to purchase? What are their rights? Figuring out how to move forward can
seem overwhelming.

Enter The Harrison Institute. Led by Director and Law Professor Michael Diamond,a staff attorney, two graduate fellows and a dozen law students, this program of the Georgetown University Law Center advises tenants in this situation on how to purchase and renovate their building and become homeowners. Text Box: Above: Harrison attorneys at the closing table with tenants at Brightwood Gardens. Harrison currently works with 15-20 groups that represent 800 units and $70-$80 million in total development costs

LISC began working with Harrison on tenant purchase projects in the early 2000's. Harrison provides the legal, technical and in some instances development assistance to tenants who are exercising their right to purchase their building. LISC steps in to provide the capital needed to ensure the property remains affordable and accessible to the existing tenants – either through earnest money deposits, predevelopment, or acquisition financing.

Though the work is difficult and sometimes filled with obstacles, for Director Michael Diamond the best part is seeing tenant groups take control and ultimately become owners of a building. “The idea that people who had no expectation of owning are now owners of these huge properties – that people who never did anything like this before are actually doing it- that is the reward.”

At the same time however, he points out that “There are not enough people out there who can do this - the need for assistance is far greater than the ability to provide it. A large number of buildings are lost and a lot of people who had potential to do this, don’t get to do it.”

Text Box: Michael Diamond second from left One LISC/ Harrison project that stands out in his mind is the 4920 A Street SE tenant purchase project. The tenants came to Harrison in 2003 after they learned their building was about to be sold. Harrison provided technical assistance and LISC provided good faith money to get the tenants to contract.

The tenants were skeptical however because 10 years earlier they had Text Box: Michael Diamond (second from right) with the president of the 4920 A St SE Tenant Association explains the tenant purchase that recently took place attempted to purchase and the deal fell through. On top of that there were internal tenant issues and physical problems with the building. But as the deal came together, the tenants began to change. Diamond notes, “As time went on, I saw that the tenants had really come together, meeting regularly, and taking on and resolving problems. Their mindset shifted from skepticism to certainty as they became owners. I saw growth in people at a time when their neighborhood was beginning to experience the effects of gentrification.” The property has since been purchased by the tenants and is currently under renovation.

At the end of the day, Harrison’s hope is that the impact is beyond just the purchase. “We hope to create community institutions that are durable, and that influence neighborhoods positively over time. We build the capacity of local residents and use the purchase of their building as evidence of what is possible.”

To date, we have jointly preserved over 300 units of housing- helping hundreds of lower income residents become first time homeowners. For us at DC LISC, it is key to have partners like the Harrison Institute who are often the first line of defense against the loss of affordable housing. We look forward to a long and thriving partnership, working to help lower income residents secure their stake in the community.

LISC/ Harrison Institute projects in various stages of completion to date:

Project	Units	Form of Ownership
526 Kenyon Street NW	13	Cooperative
4920 A Street SE	16	Cooperative
Brightwood Gardens	53	Condominiums
El Presidente Apartments	27	Cooperative
The Metropolitan	162	Cooperative
1314 K Street SE	12	Cooperative
1440 Columbia Rd NW	21	Condominiums
Total Units	304

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Lessons Learned: Ten Years of Investing in Neighborhood Based Community Facilities

For over ten years, Washington, DC LISC has been investing in the acquisition, expansion, renovation and/or leasing of space for childcare providers, arts organizations, health centers, youth and senior services organizations and community and family life centers.

On May 3rd, 2006, we gathered our nonprofit partners to reminisce about the joys and pains of their community facilities projects. Using their real life experiences we gathered a long list of “lessons learned”. Read what they had to say, by clicking here.

Oramenta Newsome Featured in the Washington Business Journal

Oramenta Newsome, Director of Washington DC LISC was featured in the April 28-May 4, 2006 Edition of the Washington Business Journal. She discusses her opinions on hot button issues and the current development taking place in the City.

Click on the image to the left to read the full article in pdf or access the website by clicking here.

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LISC Invests $18.6 million to bring Grocery Store and Retail to the Congress Heights Neighborhood of Ward 8.

Washington DC LISC is delighted to announce our $18.6 Million investment in The Shops at Park Village, a 110,000 square foot commercial development on the former Camp Simms site at Alabama Ave and 15th St SE. This project brings a long awaited full service grocery store, Giant Foods, to Ward 8. The site will also bring another 46,700 square feet of office and retail space.

The groundbreaking was held Wednesday March 1, 2006, 2:30pm at Alabama Ave and 15th St SE.

For more information, see The Shops at Park Village ( pdf)

A Quiet Partnership Is Beating Blight

By David S. Broder
Sunday, September 25, 2005; B07
Washington Post

When 800 movers and shakers gather here Wednesday evening in the Ronald Reagan Building with former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin, National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and other notables, they will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of the less-well-known American success stories.

But the real proof of its accomplishments can be found a couple of miles away, in a section of Washington left badly scarred by the riots that followed Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968.

That neighborhood -- and other blighted areas like it in cities and small towns across America -- has sprung back into life, with a major assist from an organization called Local Initiatives Support Corp., or LISC. The story is a rare blending of grass-roots activists and ordinary citizens of limited means, working through their own neighborhood associations and backed by the expertise and resources of foundations, businesses and government agencies in a powerful, transformative combination.

Walk through the Columbia Heights section of Washington, as I did recently with Michael Rubinger, LISC's president, and Buzz Roberts and Oramenta Newsome of its Washington office, and here are some things you will see:

The Josephine Butler Parks Center, a former embassy that was abandoned after the riots, became a crack house and now -- after years of sweat equity and investment -- is the sparkling headquarters for a group dedicated to protecting and expanding neighborhood parks, and for a variety of other nonprofits.
The Latin American Youth Center headquarters and its art and media house -- rescued from years of neglect and deterioration and now serving as vital recreational and educational resources for the community.
The Greater Washington Urban League headquarters, converted from a long-vacant funeral home.
Block after block of once boarded-up or burned-out buildings, now filled with families, some living in subsidized apartments or rowhouses, others paying market rates in a rapidly gentrifying part of the city.
A shopping center, a theater, a dance institute and several child-care centers.

What was once a wasteland has become a thriving community, made possible by the support that LISC gave to several local groups -- known as community development corporations. LISC provided staff assistance, loans (usually recoverable from rents) and small grants, and connected these groups to other sources of capital -- commercial lenders, foundations or government agencies that have learned that LISC can reliably vouch for the recipients.

LISC was born 25 years ago at the instigation of Mike Svirdoff, then of the Ford Foundation, with an initial capitalization of $10 million and the modest goal of identifying 50 to 100 local economic development groups worthy of support. Since then it has worked with almost 3,000 such organizations, funneling as much as $720 million a year in grants, loans and equity investments into their projects.

From the beginning, creation and preservation of affordable housing has been at the center of LISC's mission. But over time, it has developed a more comprehensive approach to community development. Its projects now embrace parks, schools, youth and family services, environmental cleanups, crime-fighting and attracting banks, groceries and other needed private businesses.

The latest addition to its portfolio is a partnership aimed at installing high-speed Internet connections in homes and community centers in redevelopment areas, along with vouchers to residents for the purchase of home computers -- a strategy to reduce the "digital divide" and empower those low-income families.

Along with other groups, LISC is operating in the hurricane-damaged Gulf Coast. >From its early roots in New York, Chicago and a few other big cities, it has become a truly national program, with offices in 34 cities and rural programs in 37 states.

At the dinner, LISC will honor 25 local activists, the spark plugs of the community organizations that are the essential front line of its work, as well as some of its key partners in business, government and the foundation world. They will celebrate not just their own achievements but the survival of the Community Development Block Grant program, targeted for extinction early this year by the Bush administration but rescued by a bipartisan band of legislators after a successful lobbying campaign by mayors and grass-roots groups.

I have seen what LISC has accomplished, not just in Washington but in my home town of Chicago, where once-blighted neighborhoods such as Pilsen and the Near West Side have come back to life. This is a model of public-private partnership -- tested in practice and ready to expand as more resources become available.

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