The Housing Opportunities Commission
Announced as Ivory Prize 2024 Top 25 Finalist
Housing Production Fund Cited As Innovative Financing Model
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Tia Blount
VP Public Affairs & Communications
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Kensington, Md, Feb. 22, 2024 – The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) is excited to announce selection of the Housing Production Fund (HPF) as a Top 25 finalist for the 2024 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability, a national award to recognize ambitious, feasible, and scalable solutions to housing affordability. This prestigious group of finalists are presenting tangible and innovative housing solutions as Americans are increasingly priced out of safe and affordable housing.
“HOC is gratified that the 2024 Ivory Prize judges recognize the value of the HPF model,” said HOC President Chelsea J. Andrews. “We’re proud to highlight the success of the HPF and illustrate how housing agencies throughout the country can replicate it in their own communities to expand housing opportunities.”
The HPF is a $100 million revolving fund that provides low-cost construction financing for the development of publicly owned, mixed-income housing. Thanks to HOC’s partnership with Montgomery County, the HPF is expected to produce as many as 2,000 new housing units in the county by the end of the decade, at least 30% of which will be affordable. Recent reports in The New York Times, Vox and Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast have provided national and international exposure for the HPF.
The 2024 Top 10 Ivory Prize Finalists will be announced in April, and the final Ivory Prize Winners will be announced in May. A total of $300,000 in prize money will be distributed between at least three winners selected across the three award categories — construction and design, public policy and regulatory reform, and finance.
About HOC
HOC serves more than 20,000 Montgomery County households through a variety of innovative housing programs. HOC owns more than 9,400 apartment, townhome and single-family home rental properties and leases or administers another 7,400 properties that provide affordable housing. We provide rental assistance to more than 8,000 low-income households through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and an additional 1,600 households through other types of subsidized housing programs. HOC also has financed more than 3,400 privately-owned multi-family buildings and helped more than 2,000 households purchase a home through the homeownership and mortgage program. Visit HOC.
About Ivory Innovations: Ivory Innovations is dedicated to catalyzing innovative solutions in housing affordability. Utilizing its network and resources, Ivory Innovations promotes the most compelling ideas in housing affordability, working across sectors and providing monetary awards with the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability. For more information about the Ivory Prize and Ivory Innovations, go here>>>.
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