We’ve covered the public development model for housing in a previous FWD and even did a standing room only session at the Governor’s Housing Conference. With continued uncertainty and risk around federal funds, conversations around the model have only continued.
There are plenty of examples popping up across the country that Virginia governments can learn from:
- Montgomery County, Maryland has the Housing Opportunities Commission.
- Atlanta, Georgia has the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation.
- Chattanooga, Tennessee has Invest Chattanooga.
- Chicago, Illinois has a Green Social Housing Revolving Fund.
- Colorado has the Middle Income Housing Authority.
- Cambridge, Massachusetts has the Cambridge Housing Authority.
- Idaho has The Housing Company.
And the public development model is increasingly gaining political traction as legislators and advocates push for this model in their communities:
- Stay Housed San Diego is an effort by San Diego’s Sunrise Movement chapter to advocate for a public enterprise model in the city.
- ALOHA Homes is a legislative priority by Hawaii state senator, Stanley Chang, to introduce a public development model similar to Singapore’s housing system.
- Rhode Island passed a ballot measure in 2024 that included $10 million that “may be used to support a new program for public housing development.”
- The Social Housing Act has been introduced several times by California state assembly member, Alex Lee. And is currently making its way through the current California legislative session.
With so much momentum and interest in the public development model for housing, we want to bring individuals already working on this model for housing to you. On July 24 at 12pm EST, join us for a webinar with John Majors, CEO of the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation, Hanneke van Deursen, Director of Housing Finance with the City of Chattanooga, and Matt Stern, Deputy Commissioner at the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing. This webinar will give you an opportunity to learn how the public development model is being implemented in U.S. cities and get your questions answered by individuals actually doing the work.
Panelists
John Majors
John Majors serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation (AUD), a partnership between Atlanta’s Mayor Andre Dickens Housing Innovation Lab and Atlanta Housing. AUD was organized to accelerate the redevelopment of publicly-owned land into mixed income housing without reliance on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and explore innovative solutions to the financing, design, and construction of these communities. Over his career, John has led or participated in the development of more than $28 million in real estate transactions.
Previously, John served as a Senior Vice President at Brinshore Development where he led transformational mixed-income housing development throughout the Southeast. Before Brinshore, John was Vice President at Purpose Built Communities where he implemented holistic community revitalizations within communities around the nation. John also served as Executive Vice President of The Dawson Company, a mixed-use commercial development firm.
Currently, John serves on the board of Drew Charter School, Fearless Dialogues, a non-profit organization that facilitates conversations among community members, and his alma mater, The Aquinas Institute in Rochester, NY. John received his Bachelor of Science(BS) degree in Computer Science from Morehouse College. Additionally, John holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master of Religion in Public Life (MRPL) from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Hanneke van Deursen
Hanneke is the Director of Housing Finance for the City of Chattanooga. With a background in architecture and design, Hanneke is working to reimagine affordable housing policy and financing to create a more efficient and equitable system. She designed Chattanooga’s innovative affordable housing tax abatement program and led the creation of Invest Chattanooga, a specialized public enterprise that administers the City’s $20 million Housing Production Fund. Hanneke first became acquainted with international approaches to affordable housing through her graduate work for the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies on the Dutch Affordable Housing system. She holds a Master in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University.
Matt Stern
Matt Stern is the Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning & Implementation at the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing. In this role, he leads the department’s legislative, research, program tracking, and process improvement agendas, and manages a team that stands up and runs new programs and special initiatives. Matt was previously responsible for the department’s implementation of the Chicago Recovery Plan, a one-time COVID-era infusion of $200M+ into over a dozen housing programs.
Prior to working at the City, Matt worked on community development and tax policy at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, led the design and construction of residential solar projects for a renewable energy startup in New England, and worked on development equity and land rights in western India. He is published in the Journal of the American Planning Association and the Carolina Planning Journal.
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