Massachusetts

POAH opens new, sustainable developments in Boston and Cape Cod

Located in the heart of a bustling transportation hub in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, The Loop at Mattapan Station (above) is a transit-oriented, mixed-use building co-developed with Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation that includes 135 affordable rental apartments with housing options for a range of incomes and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. The development was built on a former parking lot of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA). The retail space includes Daily Table, a community grocery store with a mission to provide nutritious food for less than other supermarkets. The Loop is expected to be certified passive house under the strict Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS) standard. Read more
Brewster Woods on Cape Cod creates 30 affordable rental apartments in this popular vacation area with typically high housing costs. The development serves low- and moderate-income households and includes 8 one-bedroom, 19 two-­bedroom, and 3 three-bedroom units and has a rooftop solar array that offsets the cost of electricity. Brewster Woods is also designed to be certified under the Passive House guidelines. Developed by POAH and Housing Assistance Corporation, with strong support from the Town of Brewster and the State of Massachusetts, Brewster Woods is targeted to those who work in the community but cannot afford to live there -- teachers, service workers, and healthcare workers. Read more
POAH's Resilient Communities project part of National Building Museum exhibit in Washington, D.C.
POAH's Designing Trauma Resilient Communities initiative reimagines how residents are served, how buildings are designed, how rules are created and how community development is driven by the people who live and work there. The project is supported by the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, a two-year, $20 million initiative by Wells Fargo Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners. The six grantees are featured in the A Better Way Home exhibit through May 8 at the National Building Museum that showcases the solutions which range from sustainable rural home-ownership to a home-sharing program for people released from prison and equitable underwriting technology.
In their own words: former Flat 9 resident talks about what resiliency project means to her

"I see that trauma-informed care will be influencing a lot of places and create more opportunities where people are involved in the decisions that go into where they're living." Watch Marissa's 4-min video
Missouri

Report documents success of POAH's resident services initiative at Missouri development

For five years, POAH and the Community Services League have brought creativity, empathy and persistence to tackle old problems in new ways, empowering an increasing number of residents at Hawthorne Place Apartments in Independence, MO to achieve their goals. The impact of the work show - evictions and turnover are down, more families are building savings and using them to purchase homes and achieve educational goals and more children are remaining stably enrolled in school. Read the report
Thought Leadership
Preserving affordability for housing near the future Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
Bill Eager, Sr. Vice President, Real Estate Development, POAH Midwest

Discussions about the Obama Presidential Center's potential impact on housing affordability in Woodlawn often focus on residents' fears of displacement and an uncertain future, but it might be more useful to look at the past decade for models of what can be done moving forward, Read Crain's Chicago article PDF version
New video tells the story of POAH's revitalization work on Chicago's south side

More than 1,000 apartments, retail stores, a much-needed grocery store and a community resource center are some of the highlights in this five-minute video about POAH's 12 years of work in Chicago and nearby cities.
OUR MISSION: POAH's mission is to create, preserve and sustain affordable, healthy communities that provide economic security, racial equity and access to opportunity for all.