2023 Edson Awards Showcase Announces Best in Affordable Housing

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Years of collaboration among dozens of organizations brought to fruition ten properties that serve Native American artists, LGBTQ+ youth, farmworkers, adults with special needs, senior citizens and veterans. Those ten properties fulfill a critical need in their community that is becoming increasingly urgent for millions of Americans across the country—the need for more affordable housing.

The Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards (Edson Awards) recognize outstanding affordable housing developments and organizations that have demonstrated especially impactful use of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the country’s primary tool to create and preserve affordable rental housing. Presented annually by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC), a trade association of over 250 businesses and organizations that advocate for affordable rental housing financed with LIHTC, Edson Award winners are selected by a panel of affordable housing experts in varying categories through a rigorous selection process.

The Edson Awards are named in honor of Charles L. Edson, an affordable housing luminary who was transition director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Carter, served in the Office of the General Counsel at HUD and served as co-editor-in-chief of Housing and Development Reporter for nearly 40 years, was founding partner of the law firm Lane and Edson, and partner at Nixon Peabody LLP. The awards program was launched almost 30 years ago, and since then, hundreds of affordable housing properties and organizations in nearly all 50 states have received this prestigious distinction.

The 29th annual Edson Award winners were announced in late October and showcase outstanding examples of how LIHTC can be used to build and preserve safe, decent and affordable homes in all parts of the country. A century-old elementary school building, a vacant hospital and a nearly three-acre former parking lot are among the sites that were transformed into affordable housing by the developers receiving recognition. This year’s winners provide over 1,000 combined LIHTC units of affordable housing across seven states, with locations in rural areas, such as Darlington, WI and Dexter, MI, as well as metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston and Detroit.

The winning properties also feature a breadth of supportive services, a critical characteristic of affordable housing properties that transform a house into a home for low-income residents. Resources specifically designed to support low-income residents are integrated into the developments, many of which serve our country’s most vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens, veterans, families with children, people with disabilities or formerly homeless individuals. Many developments offer services that benefit low-income residents broadly, such as continuing education or GED programs, cooking and nutrition classes, financial literacy support, on-site physical, mental, or behavioral healthcare, job training, and peer support groups. Developments serving a specific population also prioritize providing services that help address the unique needs of its residents, such as substance abuse or addiction counseling, art therapy or home care.

The developers of the winning properties were honored on Wednesday, October 25 at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The ceremony was attended by nearly 150 affordable housing industry leaders and practitioners, and nine members of Congress representing this year’s recipients, who joined the ceremony to present awards to the winning organizations. Several winners also received recognition from members of their congressional delegation through virtual engagement, including congratulatory videos and quotes.

Like all past winners, 2023’s award recipients set a strong precedent for the future of affordable housing. As our country continues to face an increasingly urgent housing crisis, building safe, financially feasible and resident-oriented homes is one of the most important ways to serve low-income communities at a time when they need it more than ever. Honoring organizations that do just that through the Edson Awards is just one way the AHTCC highlights the positive impact of providing affordable homes in every community, everywhere.

“Skyrocketing rents continue to burden millions of American families, even in areas once considered affordable,” says AHTCC chief executive officer Emily Cadik. “The Housing Credit is the best solution we have to address this growing crisis, and this year’s Edson Award recipients are innovators who demonstrate how affordable housing financed with LIHTCs changes communities for the better.”

For more information about the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and the annual Edson Awards, please visit www.taxcreditcoalition.org/edson-awards.

2023 Edson Award Winners

Rural Housing
The Meadows
Darlington, WI
Developed by Cinnaire Solutions and Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Inc.

Housing in a Small Metropolitan Area
Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community
Tinton Falls, NJ
Developed by WinnDevelopment and Soldier On

Housing in a Large Metropolitan Area
The Loop at Mattapan Station
Boston, MA
Developed by Preservation of Affordable Housing and Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation

Housing for Veterans
Hilltop View Apartments
Dexter, MI
Developed by Avalon Nonprofit Housing Corporation

Housing for Seniors
Mary D. Stone Apartments
Auburn, MA
Developed by Pennrose Properties, LLC

Housing for Native Americans or Tribal Populations
Mamook Tokatee
Portland, OR
Developed by Community Development Partners and

Native American Youth and Family Center Housing for Special Populations
Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center
Detroit, MI
Developed by Full Circle Communities and Ruth Ellis Center

HUD Preservation Housing
Mississippi Region VI RAD, LP
Central MS
Developed by Knight Development and Mississippi Regional Development Corporation

Historic Preservation Housing
T Building
Jamaica, NY
Developed by Dunn Development Corp.

Green and Healthy Housing
Vital Brookdale
Brooklyn, NY
Developed by MDG Design + Construction, Smith & Henzy Advisory Group, and the New York Foundling