Message from the Managing Director

I wanted to share our affordable housing community that I have decided to take on a new assignment in the Multifamily Housing Unit and will serve as the unit’s Housing Investment Manager effective 4/16. I believe the transition will help the unit best implement our strategic priorities to make affordable housing outcomes in Washington the best in the country.

Since we established the Housing Investment Team in 2023 (see the profile of HIT in our February newsletter), it has allowed us to focus more on equity, community outreach and policy — areas where my personal passion flourishes.  I welcome the opportunity to serve in this capacity, and to dedicate the time to work with our communities across the state.  I am grateful to Housing Division leadership for the support to navigate this transition.

We will continue working closely to help ensure the transition is as easy as possible for all of our contractors and the public input processes we are continuing to engage in.  The hiring process for a replacement will be thoughtful and inclusive, and I’m excited to see the division recruit a new leader to champion this work.  Starting on the 16th, Shawn Slape will serve as an Acting MD to allow me to shift to the new position.

– Nate Lichti

Team Spotlight: Asset Management

Each month, we highlight the work of a team in the Multifamily Housing Unit. In April, we’re proud to share introductions from our Asset Management (AM) team. Our AM team handles transfers, restructures, and changes to the scope of existing projects in the Housing Trust Fund portfolio. You can reach Asset Management team at the HTF Portfolio Management Inbox: htfportfoliomgmt@commerce.wa.gov.

Mark Kollmansberger – CS5 Asset Management Team Supervisor:

My name is Mark Kollmansberger, and I have the pleasure of leading an amazing team of dedicated Asset Managers (Milena Jelaca, Rayah Rooks, Dawn Perlman, Jim Porter, Ryan Beeler, Denice Hurley and Jessica Mount), who work tirelessly to oversee, manage and process contractor requests for amendments and contract service change requests for the more than 1,844 active contracts that make up the HTF portfolio.

Over the course of 40 or 50 years, the communities represented in the portfolio go through a lot of changes.  Accordingly, project owners need to refinance their project to deal with maintenance, modify populations being served, and remedy compliance issues.  Each of these go through our team, and there are hundreds of requests annually.  In each situation, our team is focused on preserving the affordable housing asset for the benefit Washington residents.

I’m approaching my 5^th year anniversary with COM in July and have worked in the multi-family/commercial financing industry since 2008.  I find working at Commerce, leading a team, and making a difference in the lives of our constituents extremely rewarding and look forward to seeing all that this dream team will do together in the years to come and could not feel more blessed.

Continuing Affordability Awards – Commerce makes $4.4m in awards to preserve affordable housing

Three (3) awarded projects will preserve seventy (70) units of affordable housing

The Washington State Department of Commerce is announcing investments in three properties that will protect the affordability of housing in rural communities. The funds will help preserve multifamily rental units in projects that are at risk of losing their affordability due to expiration of use restrictions.

The funding was appropriated by the Legislature in ESSB 5200, Section 1022(5). Applications were solicited under the 2023 Continuing Affordability NOFA #MHU-2023-05, published in October of 2023, which provided specific information regarding eligibility, funding requirements and priorities, the process for applying, and dates of significance. Six applications were received.

The review of applications was prioritized around five criteria: location and scarcity, urgency, readiness to proceed, number of units to be preserved, and projects at-risk of losing federal rental assistance.

The total development cost for the awarded projects is approximately $8.1 million. These projects will preserve 70 affordable housing units, 100% of which are in rural communities will retain federal rental assistance as a direct result of these funds.

• Review the 2023 Continuing Affordability NOFA. (#MHU-2023-05) here
• The list of applications received can be found here.
• The list of awarded projects can be found here.

These projects provide critical housing to some of Washington’s most vulnerable populations. Preservation of existing affordable housing is a critical part of the Multifamily Housing Unit’s vision to make conditions in our state for affordable housing residents the best in the nation, addressing the affordable housing crisis and reducing homelessness in permanent and sustainable ways.

Handbook Update Process

Over the course of 2024, the Housing Trust Fund will be providing multiple opportunities to get oriented to and provide input on the updates to the HTF Handbook, as we engage in a multi-part chapter-by-chapter public review process.

A revised version of Chapter 2 (Funding Guidelines) and 3 (Application Requirements) are now available on the Department of Commerce Box.

You can fill out a brief survey to indicate your thoughts on key changes in these chapters.

Commerce is also accepting feedback and input on this revised HTF Handbook chapter via email. Contact HTFStakeholderCommunications@commerce.wa.gov with your input by April 4, 2023. Use the subject line “HTF Handbook: Chapter 2/3” with your email.

Commerce will soon release revisions of Chapter 4 and 5 for public review via email and online. Register now via Zoom for an April 23, 2024 meeting at 1 p.m. to discuss these changes.

You can always find the latest information and links on the HTF Handbook revision process on the Resources & Trainings page.

Biennial Investment Strategy Forum

The 23-25 Biennial Investment Strategy explains how the Multifamily Housing Unit (MHU) plans to administer capital funds appropriated to it in the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. MHU endeavors to be pro-equity, quality driven, collaborative and relationally driven. The document will be continually updated, and MHU will host a public forum on upcoming proposed changes to the strategy.

Register for the April 16, 2024 public meeting (1 pm-2:30 pm) via Zoom.

More details will be provided via email prior to the public forum. For questions, please contact Analilia.Nunez@commerce.wa.gov for assistance.

Affordable Housing Technical Assistance Program

The need for housing, especially housing affordable to low and moderate income households, continues to be a major issue across Washington. However, bringing a housing project to fruition, whether it be multi-family rental or single family homeownership, is challenging for even the most experienced developers.  The process of finding a suitable site, conducting due diligence studies, navigating local, state, and federal codes, and developing a feasible project concept are expensive, high-risk early development costs. Yet all of this is necessary before an entity can even begin to complete the applications for a critical Housing Trust Fund award. In rural parts of Washington, the picture is further complicated by a lack of organizations willing and able to take on the work.

Starting in 2022, GS Consulting, together with the Office of Farmworker Housing began working with the Department of Commerce to support jurisdictions and organizations in rural areas to develop housing to meet local needs. Technical expertise was provided in the areas of design and financial feasibility, project concepts and messaging. This opportunity has been renewed for 2024-2025 and expanded to focus on by-and-for organizations in addition to rural projects. If you think your organization might benefit form technical assistance (TA), visit Commerce’s website.

TA Project Spotlight: Housing Lopez

One of groups helped from the TA program is Housing Lopez in San Juan County. Housing Lopez is a new organization formed to create affordable rental housing on the Island – a niche that no existing group was stepping into.  The Board had a lot of skills with retired contractors and non-profit administrators, but they lacked the track record for constructing rental housing.  RTA was able to step in and help fill the gaps to get a project through feasibility and on the road to being constructed.

Housing Lopez had secured approximately 9.8 acres of land in the Lopez Village area for development of affordable housing, with the potential of acquiring additional parcels outside of the Village. They envisioned developing approximately 56 units in 3-4 phases over several years, with the first phase being approximately 16 units. Technical assistance through the TA program allowed the group to first conduct a housing needs assessment to inform Housing Lopez’s decision-making regarding which groups are the highest priority target population(s) for the first and later stages of housing development.

With the housing assessment complete, TA continued to assist Housing Lopez with coordinating site due diligence studies and reports, including a Phase 1 assessment, an appraisal, historic and archeologic reviews, and a wetlands study. A large part of the technical assistance included architectural design and civil engineering services to make sure the project was properly designed. Finally, the technical assistance team provided financial feasibility services and identified potential financing sources and funds for not only construction but for ongoing operations and maintenance. All this assistance allowed Housing Lopez to prepare the detailed application required to compete for a Housing Trust Fund award. The application resulted in a $3.4 million Commerce award and Housing Lopez secured funds needed to develop a 15-unit, $6.6 million first-phase of development, some of which is reserved for homeless families.

Housing Trust Fund in the Press

Since 1986, the state’s Housing Trust Fund has invested over $2 billion in capital funding and helped build or preserve more than 58,000 affordable housing units statewide.

The Washington Legislature makes biennial appropriations in the capital budget and directs the Department on how to invest the funds. The Housing Trust Fund provides capital financing through loans or grants to affordable housing projects through annual competitive application cycles.

You can always find the latest information on the Housing Trust Fund at commerce.wa.gov/htf. We welcome feedback on the Housing Trust Fund newsletter at HTFStakeholderCommunications@commerce.wa.gov.