NCB Capital Impact Addresses District's Housing Needs at One-Day Clinic for Cooperatives

    WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NCB Capital Impact
 today hosted its first-ever clinic to identify strategies for successfully
 managing and marketing affordable housing cooperatives (AHC) in Washington,
 D.C. With the support of Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and City Council
 Chairman Vincent C. Gray, NCB Capital Impact worked with 32 local community
 groups and representatives from 1,220 housing units to address and provide
 solutions for the challenges facing the District's AHCs.
     Currently, the 65 AHCs totaling 3,012 units within the District present
 a unique opportunity for home ownership among the city's lower-income
 residents, but similar to other local housing options, co-ops still face
 complex challenges. Many of these AHCs have not had reliable access to
 training, technical assistance and management support, all of which are
 critical to maintaining good standing. Taking a proactive step toward
 solving these problems, NCB Capital Impact provided access to valuable
 training services and information resources at its first-ever D.C. Co-op
 Clinic.
     "Helping working families to better understand and become involved with
 affordable cooperative housing in our nation's capital has been an
 important part of our work for more than 25 years. The Co-op Clinic
 represents a big step in our efforts to assist Washington, D.C. in creating
 long-term sustainable and affordable housing in this increasingly
 unaffordable market," said Terry Simonette, president & CEO of NCB Capital
 Impact.
     A 2004 study of the District's affordable housing cooperatives found
 that of 30 co-ops surveyed, 42 percent had a need for significant building
 repairs, 36 percent had difficulty in managing delinquencies and 20 percent
 reported being in poor financial condition. Solutions and action items were
 presented at the D.C. Co-op Clinic for dealing with the primary issues that
 housing cooperatives face, such as cooperative legal responsibilities,
 management, building rehabilitation and refinancing.
     "I am delighted to take part in the first D.C. Co-op Clinic. Today's
 tremendous turnout signifies the important role that cooperative housing
 plays in providing homeownership opportunities for working families in the
 District of Columbia. I commend NCB Capital Impact and its partners for
 providing this much-needed forum to our residents. Their efforts to provide
 affordable housing complement the popular $5,000 D.C. homebuyer credit that
 has attracted many first time homebuyers to the city since I first got it
 through Congress in 1997," said Congresswoman Norton.
     The clinic provided a forum for tenant-owner groups to holistically
 address issues and gain access to professional networks that will help to
 keep their cooperatives in good standing.
     "An inclusive affordable housing plan allows those that provide some of
 the most important services to our city -- teachers, police officers,
 counselors and nurses -- to contribute to the education of our children and
 the safety and well-being of our citizens, while offering them an
 opportunity to live and work in the community that they serve," said
 Chairman Gray. "The D.C. Co-op Clinic is an ideal venue for bringing
 together key components to realize a winning outcome for all involved."
     To learn more about NCB Capital Impact or about the role of
 cooperatives in meeting the affordable housing needs of low- to
 moderate-income individuals, visit www.ncbcapitalimpact.org.
     NCB Capital Impact, formerly known as NCB Development Corporation, is
 the non-profit affiliate of NCB. NCB Capital Impact provides financial
 services and technical assistance to create more affordable cooperative
 homeownership, assisted living, housing and services for the frail and
 elderly, and facilities for healthcare centers and charter schools.
 Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NCB Capital Impact has offices in
 California and New York.
 
 

SOURCE NCB Capital Impact