The Housing Opportunities Commission
Announced as Ivory Prize 2024 Top 10 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., Apr., 23, 2024 – The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) today announced the selection of the Housing Production Fund (HPF) as a Top 10 finalist for the 2024 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability, a national award to recognize ambitious, feasible, and scalable solutions to housing affordability. This prominent group of finalists, selected from the Top 25 announced in February, are presenting tangible and innovative housing solutions as Americans are increasingly priced out of safe and affordable housing.
“All of us at HOC are honored and ecstatic that the 2024 Ivory Prize judges recognize the value of the HPF model and selected our agency to advance to become a Top 10 finalist,” said HOC President Chelsea 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 accelerate 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. Numerous reports in The New York Times, Fast Company, Vox, Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast and other outlets have provided national and international exposure for the HPF.
The 2024 Ivory Prize winners will be announced on May 16. A total of $300,000 in prize money will be distributed between 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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