[Archived] City Of Alexandria Receives Non Profit Friend Of The Year

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	June 7, 2007 PIO# 143-07	Steve Mason, Director of Communications, at 703.838.4300

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information, Contact:
June 7, 2007 Steven J. Mason, Director of Communications,
PIO 143-07sjm at 703-838-4300

CITY OF ALEXANDRIA RECEIVES NON PROFIT FRIEND OF THE YEAR
AWARD FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACHIEVEMENT

The City of Alexandria received the prestigious Virginia Peters Non Profit Friend of the Year award from the Housing Association of Non Profit Developers (HAND) at that group’s annual meeting on June 4. In selecting the City for this honor, HAND cited Alexandria City Council’s “decisive action and innovative approach in establishing the Penny for Housing Fund as a dedicated source of revenue to support the preservation and production of affordable housing, particularly multifamily rental stock. By using one cent of every real estate tax dollar levied to service debt on general obligation bonds issued to support affordable housing projects, in 2006 the City leveraged more than $22 million to help several nonprofit housing development organizations and the City’s public housing authority finance the acquisition and long term preservation of several hundred affordable rental units.”

The Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers was formed in 1991, and incorporated in 1998, to support the region’s professional community of housing providers in order to increase the supply of affordable housing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. HAND’s membership includes nonprofit and for-profit housing developers, technical consultants, lenders, local government staff and housing advocates, among others.

At its June meeting, HAND presents awards to organizations and individuals that have provided outstanding affordable housing projects, programs, and support for low- and moderate-income citizens throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia during the past year. The 2007 meeting included a keynote address by Steven Pearlstein, business and economy columnist at The Washington Post. Alexandria’s Mayor, William D. Euille, welcomed approximately 700 guests to the lunch event.

Besides the City of Alexandria, other 2007 HAND Housing Achievement Award Winners include: AHC, Inc. (Developer of the Year), Wesley Housing Development Corporation/Coppermine I (Best Project, Northern Virginia), Community Preservation and Development Corporation/The Residences at Wiley H. Bates Heritage Park (Best Project, Maryland), Community Preservation and Development Corporation/Oxford Manor (Best Project, D.C.), NHT/Enterprise, Community Enrichment Program Hazel Hill Apartments (Best Community Life Program, Northern Virginia), Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, Seneca Heights Apartment Tenant Council (Best Community Life Program, Maryland), Sarah’s Circle Wellness Center (Best Community Life Program, D.C.), Montgomery Housing Partnership, Individual Development Account Program (Innovation), Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance (Advocacy).

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