Beulah Land Development Corp. is working in partnership with New York-based construction company Spiritos Properties, and housing nonprofit HELP Development Corp., to develop vacant lots at 340 Dixwell Ave. into a 69-unit mixed-use project. The $28 million project was partly financed by the National Equity Fund (NEF)—a LISC affiliate focused on LIHTC and other housing investments. 340 Dixwell is the first Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project on the East Coast utilizing mass timber, an eco-friendly alternative to steel and concrete, and will include 55 affordable units for low-income households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, and an additional 20 units for people experiencing homelessness.

By Mark Kudlowitz, Senior Policy Director

Since 1974, the Community Development Block Grant program has been one of the most critical federal resources for affordable housing, community development, infrastructure, and disaster recovery. LISC’s Mark Kudlowitz shares LISC’s long history of utilizing the program in partnership with our community-based partners and what’s needed from Congress to strengthen the program for the future.

LISC CEO Michael T. Pugh joined David Dworkin, CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC), the nation’s oldest and broadest affordable housing coalition, on NHC’s podcast “Beyond Four Walls: Conversations on Affordable Housing.” The wide-ranging and energetic conversation between these two Detroit natives spans topics ranging from Pugh’s history in the workforce and housing spheres to innovative new projects in Detroit, Dallas and Charlotte, to the imperative work of supporting generational wealth and homeownership for people who have been sidelined from America’s prosperity. This is a must-listen! The podcast episode below was originally published on: A Conversation with Michael Pugh, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) By The National Housing Conference

U.S. News and World Report recently named Spartanburg, South Carolina the 12th fastest growing place in the country. This growth has put more pressure on an already strained supply of affordable housing, putting homeownership further out of reach for longtime Black residents. With support from LISC Upstate South Carolina, Oak and Ave Property Group – a Black-owned housing developer and full-service brokerage – is helping more families realize their goal of homeownership.

The new SCOTUS ruling, rather than recognize the roots of homelessness and the resources needed to combat it, punishes those who are most vulnerable and ultimately undercuts the health of our communities and economy.

Jeanne Cola, Senior Executive Director, LISC Rhode Island

In a sharp editorial for the Boston Globe, LISC Rhode Island senior executive director Jeanne Cola celebrates a $120M housing bond that will go before voters this fall, but warns that the figure is not nearly enough to close the state’s enormous affordability gap. Citing a range of creative solutions, Cola argues that only an all-hands-on-deck approach, with corporate citizens, non-profits and all levels of government collaborating, can make good housing for all a reality.