Enterprise Launches Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, Brings Design Excellence to Low-Income Communities Nationwide

MINNEAPOLIS, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading an effort to bring the benefits of design excellence to low-income communities nationwide, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) will hold the inaugural Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute July 21 - 23, 2010 in Minneapolis. Lawrence Scarpa of Pugh + Scarpa, the 2010 American Institute of Architects Firm of the Year, will provide the keynote speech on July 21st at 6:00 p.m. at the MacPhail Center for Music, located at 501 S. 2nd Street, during a reception that is open to the public (click here to RSVP).

"The Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute unites best practices in community design and development by bringing together architects and affordable housing developers to overcome real world challenges," said Katie Swenson, vice president of Design Initiatives, Enterprise. "There is a critical need for increased collaboration between architects and community development practitioners, as design excellence not only protects our environment and improves the lives and health of residents, but it is also critical to the long-term financial viability of affordable housing."

The two-and-a-half-day Institute will take place at the McKnight Foundation where an eight person design resource team composed of top architects, urban designers, green policy experts and creative financiers will work with a development team of seven nonprofit housing developers to address design challenges of real affordable housing projects that are still in the schematic design phase. Design resource team members scheduled to participate include Mr. Scarpa (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Maurice Cox (Charlottesville, Va.), an architect and professor at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, both of whom were instrumental in the creation of the Institute; David Baker (San Francisco, Calif.), founder of David Baker + Partners; Julie Eizenberg (Santa Monica, Calif.), principal, Konig Eizenberg Architecture; Daniel Hernandez (New York, N.Y.), director of planning, the Jonathan Rose Companies; Deidre Schmidt (Boston, Mass.), executive director of the Affordable Housing Institute; David Rubin, partner of The Olin Partnership (Philadelphia, Pa.); Chris Velasco (Minneapolis, Minn.), president of Projects Linking Art, Community & Environment (PLACE) and Dana Bourland (Columbia, Md.), vice president, Enterprise Green Initiatives.  

"Enterprise's Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute is an opportunity to build knowledge of best practices in community development and design nationwide, of ways to incorporate community engagement, sustainability and green building practices throughout our sectors," said Mr. Scarpa. "Well designed housing that is structurally and mechanically sound can produce health, environmental and economic benefits that reverberate throughout entire communities. In Minneapolis, we look forward to harnessing that potential and translating it into action nationwide."

Members of the development team were invited by Enterprise to participate in the Institute and will travel from across the country to work with the design resource team on ways to overcome specific challenges posed by their developments in the design phase, including how to maximize sustainability, affordability and livability. Two local, Minnesota-based nonprofit development organizations, Aeon and MetroPlains, will participate in the Institute, along with developers from Brooklyn, New Orleans, Seattle and Boston.

"Given the recent challenges in the financing of affordable housing, it is easy to lose focus of why we are designing and building -- the integrity, pride and attitude of the end user is paramount, and is definitely influenced by good design," added Randy Schold, co-president, MetroPlains.  "Paradoxically the positive impact of good design on a community, not only helps alleviate 'affordable housing' acceptability barriers by setting a high standard, but will also introduce new standards that will encourage a higher design expectation for other housing in the community."

The Institute's public program on July 21 will engage local residents, housing developers, community leaders and members of tenant organizations in a public discussion of local community design and development issues. This local community engagement is central to the approach Enterprise takes to affordable housing and community development, stemming from the belief that to build a community one must be part of the community and engage all local stakeholders in the planning of any future development. The program will conclude with a summary of the lessons learned on major themes that arose during the Institute, and selected proceedings from the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute will be published on sponsor websites.

The Institute is made possible by support from the McKnight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Federal Home Loan Banks, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and the Kendeda Fund.

Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For more than 25 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $10 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve more than a quarter million affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.org and www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.

SOURCE Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

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