Session Descriptions

The Community Development Summit features presentations and
panels led by esteemed professionals and practitioners, which highlight
emerging trends and best practices in the industry. All sessions are 75 minutes
long.

Tuesday, May 21^st
3:00 p.m.

Making RAD Work for You: An Information Session

Location: Three Rivers Room

HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD) isn’t just another public housing program. The RAD program was officially started in September 2012 and, to date, approximately 20,000 units of public housing throughout the United States have been authorized for conversion. RAD has a tremendous amount of built-in flexibility that
doesn’t require converted public housing units to remain on a current public housing site.  In this session you will learn about the RAD program requirements and how you can use the program for broader community housing development.

Presenters:

Macy Kisilinsky – Director of Acquisitions, National Equity Fund, Inc.
Kathleen Foster – Senior Consultant, Federal Practice Group, RAD Support Team

Wednesday, May 22^nd
10:30 a.m.

Building and Sustaining Corporate Partnerships

Location: Monongahela Room

An increasing number of studies have shown that community development organizations are over-reliant on foundation and government funding. Those organizations that diversify their revenue base by building and sustaining corporate partnerships are less vulnerable to shifts in the funding climate. How can organizations identify potential partners? What makes an investment attractive to corporate leaders? Come hear how to develop and sustain corporate partnerships for neighborhood improvement, from the perspective of both corporate and community leaders.

Presenters:

Rick Belloli – Principal, Civic Square, LLC
Mark T. Fatla, Esq. – Executive Director, Northside Leadership Conference
Frank Hammond – First Vice President, BNY Mellon
John Lovelace – President of UPMC for You, Inc. and President of Government Programs and Individual Advantage Products, UPMC Health Plan

Tools for Affordable Rental Housing Preservation: A Case Study of Bellefield Dwellings

Location: Frick Room

Projects financed through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program are required to remain affordable for 15 years, but what happens when the affordability period expires? In high-rent neighborhoods, these housing units are strategically and financially well positioned to become market rate housing. This session will explore strategies for preserving affordable housing developments that are nearing the end of their compliance period. A panel of housing finance experts will use case studies to highlight successful recapitalization strategies and funding mechanisms for preserving affordability and avoiding resident displacement.

Presenters:

Vidhi Anderson – Vice President of Development, Diamond and Associates
Raymond N. Baum, Esq. – Partner, Pepper Hamilton Law
Holly Glauser – Director of Development, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Peter Kaplan – Vice President and Senior Originator, PNC Real Estate Tax Credit Capital
Lara Washington – President, Allegheny Housing Rehabilitation Corporation

The Elements of Urban Restoration

Location: Allegheny Room

For the past 40 years, community redevelopment and reinvestment efforts have been neighborhood-focused. Although this concentration has had significant positive effects, historic inter-neighborhood problems caused by segregation and redlining have gone widely unaddressed. In order to be more effective, practitioners have developed strategies that work at the regional, city, and neighborhood levels simultaneously. This session will examine work in Pittsburgh and in Perpignan, France that has revitalized specific locales and reorganized linkages between cities and neighborhoods through comprehensive community initiatives that take into account the economic, social, and physical conditions of the area.

Presenters:

Ken Doyno – President, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
William J. Gatti, Jr. – President, TREK Development Group
Daniel Rothschild – Chief Executive Officer, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD – Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health, NYS Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University

What’s Harrisburg Doing Now? Bills Addressing Foreclosures, Abandonment, and Blight

Location: Conference Room A

What measures is the Pennsylvania legislature taking to address blight and abandonment? How do these legislative efforts compare to those of other states in our region? A panel of government, non-profit, and private sector representatives will share their perspectives on what legislation is needed to help drastically impact and reverse the deterioration of properties and neighborhoods. This interactive discussion will encompass those bills that have been proposed or are under consideration, focusing primarily on lender liability, a slumlord “tax,” expediting foreclosure for abandoned properties, and a statewide Vacant Property Registration Ordinance.

Presenters:

Cynthia Witman Daley – Policy Director, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
Michael Halpern – Director of Community Initiatives, Safeguard Properties

Wednesday, May 22^nd
2:00 p.m.

New Partnerships for Disrupting Poverty: The Integration Initiative

Location: Frick Room

The Integration Initiative is a national model, launched by Living Cities, that takes a new approach to disrupting urban poverty. Because so many of the causes of poverty are linked to outdated systems (such as transportation, health, housing, and workforce development), the Integration Initiative focuses on transforming those systems by building new cross-sector partnerships, moving innovative interventions into the main stream, and driving the private market to work on behalf of low-income people. Come learn about how your community can do the same, based on the experiences of Baltimore and Cleveland. Note: this session was listed as New Partnerships for Neighborhood Transformation in the Summit brochure.

Presenters:

Chelsea Burket – Community Development Strategist, Fourth Economy Consulting
Alison Gold – Assistant Director of Knowledge and Impact, Living Cities
Kurt Sommer – Director, Baltimore Integration Partnership
Walter W. Wright – Project Director, Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative

Design Your Business District for Women – Men Will Follow

Location: Allegheny Room

Women represent the most powerful and important demographic in community business district revitalization today. Women make or influence more than 80% of all retail, residential, and healthcare decisions. 60% of all college graduates are women and women control 51% of the private wealth of the United States. Yet our business districts are mostly designed and developed by men. This session will discuss the ramifications of this mismatch and explore what can be done to make business districts more appealing to women through design, development, and marketing.

Presenters:

Stefani Danes, AIA – Adjunct Professor, Carnegie MellonUniversity
David Feehan – President, Civitas Consultants, LLC
Maya Henry – Business District Manager, Lawrenceville Corporation

Preserving Neighborhood Fabric in Growing and Shrinking Housing Markets

Location: Conference Room A

In cities that have experienced long-term disinvestment, many neighborhoods have been left with vacant lots and buildings, creating gaps in the fabric of the neighborhood. At the same time, many residents have stayed in their neighborhoods, and many buildings remain; these are the assets that serve as building blocks to stabilize and revitalize a neighborhood, and define its unique character. While some cities and neighborhoods have seen reinvestment and recovery in the past decade, others have seen an even more dramatic loss of population and widespread housing abandonment. Using case studies from Philadelphia, PA and Flint, MI, this session will examine how to maintain and build upon the existing and historic fabric of established urban neighborhoods.

Presenters:

Stephen Arellano – Founder, Arellano and Associates, LLC
David Feldman – President, Right-Sized Homes, LLC
Kim Graziani – Vice President of Capacity Building, Center for Community Progress

Tools to Improve Affordability and Invest in Neighborhoods Around Transit

Location: Monongahela Room

Transportation is the second-highest expense American households face after the purchase or rental of a home. Yet, for decades, this expense has been largely overlooked in housing decisions, contributing to neighborhood disinvestment and suburban sprawl in the search for more affordable housing – a pattern that has been identified by The Brookings Institution as contributing to the housing crisis. The Housing + Transportation (H+T) Index, pioneered by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, provides a more comprehensive way of thinking about the cost of housing and true affordability. Using case studies from Pittsburgh and Baltimore, this session will focus on how community groups, investors, and policymakers can use the index, and other compelling tools to make the case for and prioritize investments in transit-oriented development.

Presenters:

Sarah Campbell – Director of National Policy, Center for Neighborhood Technology
Brian O’Malley, AICP – Director of Policy and Programs, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
Lynn Ross – Executive Director, ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing
Abigail Thorne-Lyman – Director, Center for Transit-Oriented Development

Wednesday, May 22^nd
3:45 p.m.

Filling the Gaps: Linking People and Jobs Through Community-Based Transit

Location: Allegheny Room

Effective transportation solutions are crucial to revitalizing neighborhoods and making communities competitive by increasing choices in housing, employment, and retail opportunities. However, continuous budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of the transit services that are so vital to connecting people to jobs and amenities. Independent, community-based transit services are a solution for communities who have lost transit service or where traditional public transit may not be the most effective or feasible option. Using case studies from Allegheny County, this session highlights the role of community transportation services in filling transit gaps and increasing economic opportunities.

Presenters:

Lynn Colosi – Vice President, Delta Development Group, Inc.
Karen Hoesch – Executive Director, ACCESS Transportation Systems
Lynn Manion – Executive Director, Airport Corridor Transportation Association
Sarah Morgan – Transportation Program Manager, Heritage Community Initiatives
Chris Sandvig – Regional Policy Director, PCRG

What Happens When You Flush?: Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure Solutions for Communities

Location: Monongahela Room

Cities across the country have entered into consent decrees with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agreeing to comply with the Clean Water Act by reducing the amount of contaminants that flow into our rivers and streams. Most plans contain gray infrastructure solutions (deep concrete tunnels and wastewater retention chambers), but cities all over the
country are increasingly turning first to green infrastructure – solutions that manage stormwater where it falls, such as tree planting, porous pavement, and roof and rain gardens. Improving water quality to comply with the Clean Water Act typically requires rate increases whether green or gray solutions are chosen, but green infrastructure brings many other community benefits. This session will explore practical green infrastructure measures for regions, communities, and neighborhoods to tackle stormwater management as well as potential ways to finance these solutions.

Presenters:

Daniel S. Deiseroth – Executive Vice President, Gateway Engineers
Loralyn Fabian – Program Manager, East Liberty Development, Inc.
Kari Mackenbach – National Green Infrastructure Practice Leader, URS Corporation
Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy – Campaign Director, Clean Rivers Campaign

Innovative Models for Supportive Housing

Location: Conference Room A

Over the past decade, the affordable and supportive housing industries have become extremely sophisticated not only in financing and building new housing, but also in terms of the range of models that have been created. Developers and service providers have become adept at designing and retooling resources to effectively meet the unique housing needs of people and communities. Come hear from housing and community service providers who are rethinking existing supportive housing models and developing new ones. This session will explore how creative financing and effective partnership building can leverage human
and capital resources.

Presenters:

Nathan Cunningham – Manager, ELDI Real Estate, LLC
Lois Mufuka Martin – Executive Director, Bethlehem Haven
Mark Schwartz, Esq. – Executive Director, Regional Housing Legal Services
Trevor Smith – Director of Community Programs, Community Human Services

Cultural Placemaking

Location: Frick Room

Cultural assets act as economic drivers, providing a platform for investment and breathing new life into neighborhoods. Yet, outside of established cultural districts, many cities struggle to identify, preserve, and plan for cultural assets that reconnect communities and create new vibrancy in neighborhoods where a culture of place has been lost. In this session, hear
from panelists who are leading efforts to create new or redevelop existing cultural spaces as a way to engage communities around revitalization efforts while attracting residents and investment from outside the neighborhood. Through case studies, we’ll explore the opportunities for and barriers to cultural placemaking in communities across the region.

Presenters:

Chris Koch – Director of Programs, Design Center
Colleen Petrucci – General Manager and Conservatory Director, Pittsburgh Musical Theater
Henry Reese – Co-Founder, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh
Tim Smith – Executive Director, Center of Life