Category: Affordable Housing

Building a shared prosperity for Prince George’s candidates briefing

A briefing for County Executive candidates on linking economic development, housing, and smart growth

Photo of sponsors and candidates of the Prince George's County Executive candidates briefing

February 18, 2025,  Solid Rock Church, Riverdale MD

Video Recording

Sponsors

RISE Prince George’s is a group of county residents and allies advocating for policies and practices that build shared, sustainable prosperity in Prince George’s County by creating safe, walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities. Platform brief 2025.

LISC – DC is a mission-based investor, convener and technical assistance provider. We work with a wide variety of partners to build neighborhoods where every person, regardless of race or income level has the chance to live and thrive. Briefing 2 pager

Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) is a nonprofit membership collective working across the private, public, and social sectors to collaborate in the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Capital Region of Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. Representing the ecosystem of partners who bring equitable communities to fruition, HAND works to disrupt the systems that perpetuate inequity in the communities we serve. We do this by embedding racial equity into our operations, practices, and programming, and activating our membership through policy forums and advocacy designed to drive impact for Black and brown communities residing at the sharpest intersections of inequity. HAND One Pager

Enterprise Community Partners’ mission: to make home and community places of pride, power, and belonging, as well as platforms for resilience and upward mobility. Enterprise Mid-Atlantic Overview

The Capital Market (TCM) is a community-based farmers’ market that: provides healthy, affordable food options to our neighbors in the Capitol Heights neighborhood and surrounding vicinity; supports the growth of local-businesses and farms owned and operated by people of color; advocates for equitable and culturally-aware food systems.

Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development, Inc. (SEED) provides food, clothing, education and training while promoting self-sufficiency and empowerment directly to low- to moderate-income families and communities. Through community services, education and community development, SEED will create environments where all individuals are empowered, all children are nurtured, families are strengthened and communities are transformed. SEED is also the developer of 250 units of affordable housing on the Purple Line Corridor’s Riverdale Road Station in partnership with Lincoln Avenue Communities. SEED brochure

Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. (HIP) develops innovative affordable housing, revitalizes neighborhoods, and equips people to achieve their housing and financial goals. Our vision is that every person lives in high-quality affordable housing in a thriving community. HIP handout

The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) is a public-private-community collaborative working to leverage Maryland’s largest transit investment in the 21st century to ensure equitable change for all who live, work and invest in the corridor. PLCC flyer

Coalition for Smarter Growth advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. Blueprint for a Better Region

The sponsors are 501(c)(3) organizations and this is a permitted educational activity. By law, these organizations do not endorse or work on behalf of any candidate for public office.

Pictured: left to right: Pastor Mike Dickson, Solid Rock Church; Stanford Fraser, RISE Prince George’s; Sheila Somashekhar, Purple Line Corridor Coalition; Steven Palmer, HAND; Albert Slocum, candidate; Moisette Tonya Sweat, candidate; Kyle Reeder, The Capital Market and RISE Prince George’s; Marcellus Crews, candidate; Bryan Franklin, LISC; Stephanie Proestel, HIP; Cheryl Cort, CSG; David Bowers, Enterprise; Marcus Robinson, LISC; Bernard Holloway, RISE Prince George’s. Photo credit: Lesia R. Bullock, HIP

Testimony: Maryland Single-Staircase Building Study (HB489)

Single-staircase buildings offer a potential solution to several of the housing challenges Maryland faces. Modern fire safety requirements and building materials make it possible to build single-staircase buildings safely, and this study will help us update our state’s housing policies to reflect these advances.

MD Testimony: HB38, School Zones and Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances

Providing sufficient housing that people can afford is essential to ensure that Maryland is providing opportunities for all to live and thrive in our communities. For this reason, we ask you to support HB 38.

HB 38 will provide information that will help Maryland better understand where education investments are most needed, and will prevent school capacity from becoming an indefinite barrier to needed housing production.

RELEASE: CSG and Montgomery for All support the More Housing N.O.W. Package

RELEASE: CSG and Montgomery for All support the More Housing N.O.W. Package

The Coalition for Smarter Growth and Montgomery for All are proud to support the More Housing N.O.W. package to increase housing options in sustainable locations and support our workforce and first-time homebuyers. Building more housing along our corridors, a central piece of this package, will help more people afford homes in Montgomery County and live close to jobs, transit, and amenities.

CSG in the News: Jawando urges County Council to pause attainable housing plan

The Coalition for Smarter Growth, a nonprofit that, according to its website, advocates for “walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities” in the Washington, D.C. area, released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying the organization is “deeply disappointed” by Jawando’s comments.

“Smaller, multi-family units like those proposed in the Attainable Housing Strategies recommendations can be built and sold more affordably than single-family detached homes. Expanding housing choices also offers creative pathways and opportunities to produce subsidized affordable homes, a feat that is financially prohibitive to accomplish with single-family detached homes,” the nonprofit wrote.

RELEASE: CSG Response to Councilmember Jawando’s Comments on Attainable Housing (MoCo)

RELEASE: CSG Response to Councilmember Jawando’s Comments on Attainable Housing (MoCo)

We are deeply disappointed by Councilmember Will Jawando’s statements on the Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative (AHSI). His statements fail to recognize the reality of our county’s housing crisis and lack of sufficient housing options, and do not address the full range and potential of the AHSI recommendations.

Testimony: U St Police Station Zone Modification (Support)

We urge the Zoning Commission not to further shrink the housing capacity of the site, and to accommodate its other essential uses – a new police station and fire station. This is an important public land site for needed affordable housing. The proposed text amendment is a reasonable approach to making the most of the opportunity for new housing, supporting new public facilities, while also being respectful of the desires of nearby neighbors.

Event Materials: Fixing zoning to build more affordable housing & walkable communities (DC)

How can we build more homes while ensuring neighborhood-friendly buildings and great public spaces? Emerging approaches to zoning offer simpler rules for creating great places, while reducing delay, uncertainty, and the cost of new housing.

Testimony: Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2024 (Support, DC)

We ask the DC Council to support the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act (B25-994) to avert a crisis driven by unprecedented levels of unpaid rent. The bill would ensure that DC law establishes the right incentives to bring tenants and housing providers together to save and stabilize at-risk housing to serve low income DC residents.