Housing Forum a Success
Housing Forum a Success
In mid-September, Cook Inlet Housing Authority held a two-day housing forum at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage. The housing authority brought in speakers from communities in the Lower 48 where new concepts in housing have been implemented with successful results.
Titled, “Building Partners for Our Community,” the forum brought together local architects, developers and builders, government officials, housing providers and financial institutions to learn from the specific approaches of these experts and to begin a local dialogue that may lead to new creative solutions for Anchorage and the Cook Inlet Region.
Cushing Dolbeare, a housing policy consultant in Washington DC, and founder of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, was a part of the speaker line-up for the event. Ms. Dolbeare has been working in and advocating for affordable housing for more than 50 years!
Also a well-known name on the two-day agenda, Michael Pyatok, of Pyatok Architects in Oakland, CA and Seattle, is considered the leading designer of low-income housing in the U.S.
In addition Alan Arthur, executive director of the Central Community Housing Trust of Minneapolis and James McCoy, Development Director, Lane County Housing Authority and Community Service Agency both gave wonderful first-hand accounts, from concept through construction, of some of the fabulous projects developed by their housing agencies.
Cheewa James, a Native American motivational speaker, spoke on the inevitability, importance and power of change, and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich shared his commitment to neighborhood revitalization and improved development for the community. The goal of the forum was to “lay the foundation,” demonstrating the need for affordable housing and the positive financial and social impacts its development can have on a community, to highlight “good” affordable design and what it takes to make that happen, and finally to inspire the local participants and to discuss how these ideas might be utilized and/or implemented in our own community.
Cook Inlet Housing Authority had great community partners who were instrumental to the success of this event. Much thanks goes to Neeser Construction; Koonce, Pfeffer, Bettis; Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; First National Bank; Related Capital; HUD; Key Bank; Wells Fargo; Arctic slope Consulting Group; Amerind; Birch, Horton, Bittner and Cherot; Dowl Engineers; and Northrim Bank.