Brent Elrod
Managing Director
A message from U
rban Housing Solutions began 2023 with resilience already in mind, but it came to the forefront of our work as the year went on: unexpected staff turnover, the effective end of pandemic-related emergency rental assistance, and severe weather events weighed down on our operations and contributed to higher vacancy and higher arrearage at our properties by the end of the year. For that reason, I think our most enduring achievement in 2023 was the release of our Three-Year Strategic Plan.
This organizational road map, particularly our Values Framework, will help us navigate the significant changes we are making in the near term as well as the unplanned challenges we may face at any point in our future.
Despite some operational headwinds in 2023, UHS still reached important development project milestones, and our Resident Services team celebrated great results. I am encouraged by the composite picture, and I look forward to kicking off our Three-Year Strategic Plan this year; I expect our 2024 Impact Report will offer positive proof that UHS isrisingthrough resilience...
Thank you, as always, for your interest and support.
Sincerely,
Despite some operational headwinds in 2023, UHS still reached important development project milestones, and our Resident Services team celebrated great results.
Increasing the physical durability and resilience of UHS properties helps support our residents during a disaster and reduces financial and operational disruptions for UHS.
Toensure that we can consistently create housing where people want to live, both in terms of quality and location, UHS is refining a set of design and development guidelines. These guidelines set organizational standards for new construction projects and the renovation of older properties for greater longevity, risk mitigation, energy efficiency, and resident comfort. Additionally, we continue to pursue innovative and sustainable funding streams so that we can respond quickly and effectively when opportunities arise to acquire, develop, or preserve affordable communities.
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Parliament Place & Southwood Park: Innovative Funding Partnerships to Preserve Housing Affordability
We consider this a big win - especially for folks in Davidson County
that need housing.Melinda Sanders, President Kharis Foundation
One of the main drivers of Nashville’s housing crisis has been the so-called “value add” acquisition of older apartment complexes by profit-seeking investors, who often purchase properties solely with cash equity for a rapid closing and then renovate those properties and increase the rents beyond what the former tenants can afford to pay. Organizations like Urban Housing Solutions have struggled to compete against for-profit developers and out-of-state investment firms for these opportunities to preserve the city’s affordable housing stock. In 2019, UHS proposed a loan guarantee: an arrangement where foundations would
temporarily offer a portion of their large endowments as additional collateral for a larger short-term acquisition loan provided by a bank to UHS to acquire an apartment complex. This “credit enhancement” would enable UHS to negotiate and execute purchase agreements more quickly and with the same certainty as an all-cash buyer –and then allow UHS up to three years to develop a sustainable refinancing and preservation strategy to keep rents affordable for the long term.
Four local foundations – The Memorial Foundation, The Healing Trust, James
Stephen Turner Family Foundation, and Kharis Foundation – and Regions Bank worked with UHS to develop an underwriting model to explain how the loan guarantee could make a preservation opportunity possible. After a year of working to define the details of the partnership, UHS and the four foundations had a working agreement for a $2M loan guarantee to be used for a future property acquisition. In late 2020, two neighboring older complexes with a combined 165 apartments –Parliament Place and Southwood Park Apartments – were listed for sale. UHS saw the potential to preserve a critical housing opportunity located on a bus route within six miles of downtown Nashville.
With a loan from Regions Bank and the loan guarantee from the foundations in place, UHS was able to make a competitive offer of $19.2M for both properties and closed on the acquisition in April 2021. With these properties under ownership, UHS
developed a refinancing strategy and renovation plan, including crucial infrastructure and energy-efficiency upgrades, while minimizing tenant displacement and preserving the apartments’ affordability for the next 30 years.
In December 2023, UHS successfully refinanced the $19.2M acquisition loan – and completed the loan guarantee proof of concept – with a combination of UHS equity and long-term debt, including a $8.5M Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable Housing loan through Citibank and a $3M Affordable Housing Gap Financing loan through MDHA. With the help of a $1.5M renovation grant from the Barnes Fund, UHS has effectively ensured the long-term affordability of 165 units, 125 (75%) of which are deed-restricted for 30 years to be affordable to people with incomes at or below 60 AMI, including 17 units of Housing First opportunities for people experiencing homelessness.
This successful preservation outcome is a remarkable example of – and was only possible through –a genuine public, private, and philanthropic partnership. Our hope is that it will serve as a model to provide housing affordability for more individuals and families in Nashville and in other communities across the country.
Nikki Smith Resilience & Relocation Specialist
THANK YOU, Nikki, for going above and beyond for our residents during a time of great disruption to their lives. Our residents -- and we -- are lucky to have the MVP on Team UHS!
In August 2023, Nikki Smith celebrated her first anniversary with UHS, and we were amazed with what she had already accomplished. Nikki first started as a leasing agent, and then, within a few months, she was promoted to our Resident Services team before transitioning to the property management team for UHS’s Legacy region (South Nashville) in early 2023. For anyone who has had the good fortune to work directly with Nikki, they know Nikki excels because she represents the best of UHS: she is thoughtful, compassionate, and works hard every day to take care of our residents.
Nikki’s dedication and leadership have been most visible ever since the damaging rainstorm that hit our Greentree property at the end of July 2023 and the very challenging resident relocation effort we have had to manage as a result. UHS had not had this kind of major relocation challenge since Hurricane Harvey flooded our 1216-1220 and 1335 Lewis Street properties in September 2017. Of course, Nikki could not be successful alone, she had the support of many team members to respond to the situation. But without a doubt, nobody worked harder for our residents and, therefore, nobody worked harder for UHS through this whole ordeal than Nikki.
2023 Income Statement
Pre-audited*
Check out the scoreboard: within the first week after the storm, Nikki had successfully relocated 15 of the 22 Greentree residents who needed to move into new apartments, and she had lined up moves for another 3 people over several weeks. Altogether, 28 residents were relocated. This was a real achievement because none of
us anticipated this effort, and it takes an enormous amount of logistical problem-solving, constant follow-up, and good communication to make it happen, especially when so many of our Greentree residents also needed a transfer of their rental assistance. Nikki put in really long days (including weekends) and tried to leverage every possible resource to make this happen. Thanks to her hard work and perseverance, all of the affected residents at Greentree were soon, safely resettled, and we were able to get underway with the renovations -- and even some big improvements! -- at Greentree.
Today, as UHS’s first ever Resilience and Relocation Specialist, Nikki leads our planning for resident relocations, which requires working with property management, design and development, and the compliance teams to care for residents during emergencies and/or disasters, reconstruction projects, or other disruptions at our properties.
What’s the key to her resiliency? In Nikki’s own words, it is that she was raised “to love and take care of your community”. Greentree was her community; and at the time, she needed them as much as they needed her. “I want to feel like he feels!”, Nikki stated as she was speaking of one of the Greentree residents who was relocated to another UHS property and still calls her to this day. “He lost everything, but his mental health is better” today because of the care and coordination taken to place him in a better environment than what he unfortunately experienced in late summer of 2023. Staff Spotlight
INCOME
$8.8M Rents
$640K Development Income
$140K Contributions and Grants
$820K Annual Operating Grants
$640K Other Operating Income
$11.1M
EXPENSES
$3.1M Payroll
$3.4M Property Expenses
$620K Admin
$130K Direct Resident Expenses
$570K Taxes
$770K Interest
$2.1M Improvements and Major Repairs
$1,520
Resilience Hub Activity
In partnership with the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, the UHS Resiliency Hub framework provides holistic social services to support individuals transitioning from homelessness to housing stability.
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2,500+
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1,633 HOMES
Forever Grateful Rex2 Move In Roderick
Moore is a resident of Rex2 and has been with Urban Housing Solutions since 2020. Originally from Georgia, he moved to Tennessee seeking employment but fell on hard times shortly after. When Mr. Moore moved into his apartment at Mercury Courts, he said it didn’t matter what it “looked like”, but rather how it made him feel, and that feeling was a “GREAT one”. Since transferring to Rex2 in December 2023, he has not let a week go by without telling us how grateful he is for his new home and all that UHS does for the residents. He has even taken it upon himself to clean the elevator and around the property, if he sees anything.
Eviction Prevention Partnership
We believe eviction prevention requires a team approach, so UHS created the Eviction Prevention Partnership to give residents at risk of eviction a process to achieve rental sustainability. Residents work with members of our leasing, property management, resident services, and legal teams to develop a personalized, proactive plan of action so they can achieve financial stability and maintain their housing.
Resident Council
We held resident council meetings at various properties in 2023 to serve as vital platforms for fostering community empowerment and participation, allowing residents to voice their aspirations and concerns directly. Integrating this type of input helps ensure our property development initiatives align closely with the desires and needs of the residents, ultimately fostering a shared sense of ownership and accountability for the flourishing of these communities.
Partner Highlight Project Return
Project Return is a leader in Nashville’s re-entry community. UHS has partnered with Project Return’s social enterprise endeavors called PROPS to assist with UHS’s building clean-outs, move-in preparation, resident locations and apartment make-ready.
www.projectreturninc.org
Wellness Fairs
In 2023, Resident Service Coordinators held 12 regional Wellness Fairs with over 25 community partners providing health services, education, food, and more to our residents.
Community Gardens
North Nash Fall Bash
At the 3rd Annual North Nash Fall Bash, we served 400 meals from local food truck Music City Fish and Chicken, provided diapers, administered COVID-19 & flu vaccinations, and offered activities like a community closet to shop from, a pumpkin patch, art-making stations, Halloween costumes, trick or treating, and more– all for free! This event stands as a testament to UHS’s commitment to fostering a strong, thriving, and resilient community year after year. Through resident councils, we identified the opportunity to build gardens at our Fisk and 26th & Clarksville properties. We know that gardening contributes to improved physical, mental, and emotional health; and beautification enhances quality of life for anyone! At Fisk, where young adults experience their first independent living, the garden project fostered a sense of connection and ownership. At 26th & Clarksville, the garden gives residents - especially seniors - opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities, connect with nature, and build community. Thanks to our partners at TSU Agricultural Extension, Nashville Food Project, Avenue Construction, and Trevecca Urban Farm.
Age to Perfection
In the fall of 2023, UHS began its Age to Perfection program. Age to Perfection is a holistic wellness program for seniors living in North Nashville. The goal of the program is to enhance the lives of seniors in the communities by offering activities that promote wellness through physical activities such as chair yoga, nutrition classes with food boxes from TSU Agricultural Extension, community garden, art therapy, Game Days, lifelong learning workshops, field trips, and in addition, quarterly events to encourage intergenerational relationship building.
To All of Our Wonderful Friends,
Our work is made possible through the collaboration and generosity of dedicated partners who recognize the importance of creating and preserving affordable homes in supportive communities. Whether you are new to UHS or have been with us from the beginning, we are grateful for your ongoing support and look forward to growing together in 2024. Thank you!
2023 Board of Directors
Katina Beard
Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center
John Gregory, Chair Renasant Bank (Retired)
Steve Harris Trevecca Nazarene University (Retired)
Kate Hyde Redevelopment Lab
Cheryl Jett Community Volunteer
Michael Lewis, Vice-Chair
Lewis & Wright Funeral Directors
Chris Mayfield HCA
Andrew Ritter Truxton Trust
Kurt Schreiber Cumberland Trust (Retired)
Interested in Getting Involved or Supporting Our Work?
Phone: (615) 726-2696
Email:
hello@urbanhousingsolutions.org
Donate and Sign up for Our Mailing List:
2023 Community Council
John Gregory, Renasant Bank (Retired)
Tabitha Allbert, S&S Property Management
Jamie Casler, Trevecca Nazarene University
Mary Foust, Attorney
Clint Story, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust
Marquez Cantrell, Consilio LLC
H.G. Stovall, Launch Pad
Tracey Levine, Healing Housing
www.urbanhousingsolutions.org