Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation Receives First Enterprise Community Partner of the Year Award at Harbor Lights: Leading the Way Home

BALTIMORE, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 500 patrons and guests helped Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) celebrate its inaugural fundraising event, Harbor Lights: Leading the Way Home, at the American Visionary Art Museum. Enterprise honored long-time community development partner, Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation, with the first Enterprise Community Partner of the Year Award for its outstanding work to provide more than 650 affordable homes for local families. PNC served as the presenting sponsor.

The award is made to a community-based organization that provides an integrated approach to improving human lives, from building homes to providing support programs and services to help individuals and families to thrive.

During the event, Enterprise announced its commitment to provide grants, loans, and tax credit equity to create 5,000 new or retrofitted green affordable homes in Maryland by 2013. Enterprise will also provide financing and technical expertise for these homes through its national Enterprise Green Communities initiative.  

The Harbor Lights event also honored former Enterprise Chairman and CEO Bart Harvey for his 25 years of service, and commemorated the 25^th anniversary of Enterprise Homes, Inc. and the 10^th anniversary of the Enterprise Women's Network (EWN).

"Enterprise has so much to celebrate and be thankful for in Baltimore, where we were founded and have partnered with the community for more than 25 years," said Kelly Cartales, vice president and Baltimore Impact Market Leader, Enterprise. "We are able to serve our mission because of partners like Bon Secours who are focused on bringing affordable housing opportunities to individuals and families and connecting them to a network of support. We're proud of all the great work that Bon Secours has done to keep affordable housing at the forefront of Baltimore's community development efforts."

Enterprise Homes, Inc., founded in 1985, has been developing green affordable and mixed-income communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region for the past three years. The new Renaissance Square homeownership development currently under construction in eastern Baltimore County will feature 115 for-sale homes along with the Evergreen senior apartment building.

In addition, Enterprise Homes and its partners, Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation and the Wayland Baptist Church CDC, recently broke ground on Wayland Village Senior Apartments in West Baltimore. Enterprise Homes has 384 new affordable homes under way and two new developments totaling 215 homes are slated to close on financing this summer.

"Enterprise is an organization with a tremendous track record of creating affordable housing in Baltimore and around our nation," said Cathy Niederberger, managing director, PNC Community Development Banking. "PNC shares the same commitment to bring affordable housing and community development to the communities we serve and we are thrilled to be partnering with Enterprise at this wonderful event."

In partnership with PNC and other national and regional banks, Enterprise has provided loans, grants or tax credit equity investments in Maryland totaling more than $760 million, creating 14,000 affordable homes.

In addition to providing financing for affordable housing, Enterprise has a unique school-based community development partnership with the William Pinderhughes Elementary/Middle School in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. It is supported by EWN through a mentoring partnership and other programs. EWN was formed in 2000 to channel the energies of women across Baltimore to help low-income women and children improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities.

Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For more than 25 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $10 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve more than a quarter million affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.org and www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.

SOURCE Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.