Our Capabilities

Strategic Planning

What: An analysis of local market conditions and identifying what tools are available to support local housing goals

When: The process begins after the specifics of housing need (amounts, types, etc.) have been determined

The Process:

  • Convene project leads to refine goals
  • Kickoff meeting to incorporate all stakeholders
  • Research into existing market and community context (including existing planning documents, interviews, surveys, and focus groups)
  • Overview of various housing tools followed by prioritization
  • Implementation planning: finalize prioritized tools, define subtasks with accompanying timelines, funding sources, and task leads.
  • Timeline: Approximately 6-8 months

Land Use Analysis

What: A close analysis of land use code, housing policies, and development review processes to find opportunities to make the code more favorable to affordable housing development

When: This process is used when trying to reshape an outdated code or when a code  isn’t resulting in the types of development the community wants to see

The Process:

  • Convene project leads to refine goals
  • Kickoff meeting to incorporate all stakeholders
  • Analysis of code and  policy documents
  • Interviews with planning staff and local developers
  • Draft recommendations
  • Feedback and revisions
  • Presentations of final analysis to elected and appointed leaders
  • Timeline: Approximately 8-10 months

Facilitation and Community Engagement

What: Support for communities wanting to advocate for changes in local land use or housing policy

When: We engage this process when a collective needs capacity and focus to help move forward a project or goal, or when a community group is seeking education on housing, development, or land use issues

The Process:

  •  Responsive to project need. Facilitation tools and topics are co-created with project sponsors or the full stakeholder group.
  • Timeline: Variable. 3 months to  multi-year

Development Feasibility

What: A site specific analysis of a potential development program. This work can include identification of development program, development cost estimates, proforma development, and fund identification

When: A project sponsor has site control and is interested in developing income restricted rental or for-sale housing on the property

The Process:

  • Site visit and goal setting meeting, 
  • Research on existing conditions, 
  • Draft site concept development, 
  • Feedback and site plan revisions
  • Proforma development, 
  • Action plan
  • Support on development Request for Proposals (RFP) drafting
  • Timeline: Approximately 4-6 months

Housing Policy Research

What: Primary and secondary research supporting the understanding of current housing conditions and comparative analysis to inform policy changes

When: This process is helpful any time an entity is seeking a deeper understanding of root causes, or is interested in how peers have handled specific challenges

The Process:

  • Project scoping with sponsor and stakeholders
  • Methodology design
  • Primary and secondary research leveraging existing research, ordinances and statutes, interviews, statistical analysis, etc.
  • Development of key findings and conclusions
  • Report drafting
  • Stakeholder review
  • Revisions
  • Publication/presentations
  • Timeline: Variable. Approximately 4 – 12 months

Housing Technical Assistance

 What: Advice and support on a broad array of affordable housing issues ranging from organizational capacity building, to grant writing, and tackling specific housing challenges within a defined geography

When: When a project is at a sticking point, when role definition is not clear, when project leads do not have housing or affordable housing experience, or when assistance is needed in navigating funding options

The Process:

  • Process and timeline are both dependent on the nature of the technical assistance