RES provides market analyses for public funding including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME and Housing Trust Fund dollars, Choice Neighborhood Initiative and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) projects. The firm completes an average of 30 affordable/mixed-income studies annually and works in numerous states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and Alabama.
Selected Engagements
Philadelphia Housing Authority
Market Assessment, North Philadelphia CHOICE Implementation Applications
RES worked with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, Philadelphia City Planning Commission, and other consultants and stakeholders on the preparation of a Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) application for a $30 million implementation grant. The RES role was to serve as market analyst throughout the application preparation process, advising on such issues as rents for market-rate units in proposed mixed-income properties, pricing for proposed sales housing units, scale of retail/commercial development, and the competitive environment influencing proposed workforce training initiatives. RES also prepared the Preliminary Market Assessment for inclusion in the Choice application. The application was submitted during 2012, but it was not funded. During 2013, RES assisted with planning for a revised application addressing deficiencies highlighted by HUD and we prepared the Market Assessment for the CNI application for an implementation grant. The application was awarded a $30 million Choice Implementation Grant from HUD in June 2014.
New Courtland Elder Services
Germantown Home
RES prepared a market analysis addressing the need for Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) from the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) at Germantown Home to serve seniors who are transitioning out of nursing homes and back into the community. Units at Germantown Home, located on Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, are currently in the Nursing Home Transition Program (NHT) of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, which provides funding for only two years. Some senior residents require additional time for the transition. For New Courtland’s application to PHA for the PBVs, RES analyzed the performance of affordable senior housing and the demand and potential capture rates for additional affordable units targeted for seniors in the area.
BCM Affordable Housing
Affordable Housing Market Study in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
BCM Affordable Housing was considering the development of Cedars Village, a 64-unit affordable rental housing complex for seniors utilizing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. The new building was to be developed in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of the City of Philadelphia. All 9% LIHTC applications submitted to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency must include a market study by an independent market research firm. BCM retained RES to complete the market assessment. RES analyzed the location of the project and identified area amenities that would appeal to residents of the new building. RES assessed market support for the proposed development including estimating capture rates for the new units. RES interviewed local community groups and active members of the community to ascertain community support for the development. RES also analyzed competitive market-rate and affordable housing units in the market area and determined any effects additional housing units would create. The development received an allocation of LIHTCs and opened in 2014.
Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha (APM) and Jonathan Rose Companies
Market Analysis for Paseo Verde, a Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Transit-Oriented Development
RES has worked with the development team for several years, conducting market research and analysis and preparing formal market analyses for Paseo Verde a mixed-use development on a site adjacent to the Temple University SEPTA station. The development includes commercial and retail space near the corner of North 9th and West Berks Streets, mixed-income residential units in mid-rise buildings along North 9th Street, and stacked affordable townhouses fronting on West Norris Street. The development includes a range of features and amenities including parking for cars and bicycles under the buildings, a community room, and fitness space. RES prepared the initial market analysis for the entire development during September 2010. The analysis addressed the market for affordable and rental multifamily units and commercial/retail use. RES assisted with initial outreach to Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) about leasing space at Paseo Verde and we also identified potential pharmacies and other retail uses having apparent market support. We also prepared a market study in connection with an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, which was awarded in 2011, and we prepared estimates of the impacts from development to support a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
Since that time RES has been involved in other market analyses in nearby areas of North Central Philadelphia. We updated a market analysis for the initial Norris Homes redevelopment by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. We provided market analyses for the Choice Implementation grant applications submitted during 2012 and 2013 for Choice Planning Areas that included Paseo Verde. During 2013 RES assisted APM with an application to PHFA for preservation funding to modernize and recapitalize three older existing affordable properties requiring upgrades.