On October 28, 2009, Affordable Housing Finance magazine, the leading business-to-business publication in the affordable housing industry, held its annual Readers’ Choice Awards and Hall of Fame Luncheon at the Palmer House in downtown Chicago at the conclusion of AHF Live: The Affordable Housing Developers’ Summit. The luncheon, sponsored by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, honored 11 Readers’ Choice Awards Winners and inducted five individuals into its Hall of Fame.

The annual Readers’ Choice Awards honor the best affordable housing developments in the country. Affordable Housing Finance subscribers voted on the winners in each of the 10 categories as well as the best overall development out of 35 finalists that appeared in the July/August issue. The finalists represented the best of a very high quality group of projects, showing the tremendous range of creativity and the attention to detail that has come to characterize the affordable housing development industry.

Affordable Housing Finance’s 2008-2009 Readers’ Choice Winners:
Overall Winner: 990 Polk Street in San Francisco; developed by Citizens Housing Corp. and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp.
Family: Grass Creek Village in Anchorage; developed by Cook Inlet Housing Authority
Green: Renaissance Riverfront Lofts in Denver; developed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
Historic Rehab: Royalton Apartments in Miami; developed by Carlisle Development Group and Carrfour Supportive Housing, Inc.
Homeownership: Mandela Gateway Townhomes in Oakland, Calif.; developed by BRIDGE Housing Corp.

Master-Planned/Mixed-Use: St. Vincent’s Affordable Housing in Santa Barbara, Calif.; developed by Mercy Housing
Preservation: Spring Creek Gardens in Brooklyn, N.Y.; developed by The Domain Cos. and The Arker Cos.
Rural: Red Hawk Apartments in Springdale, Utah; developed by Color Country Community Housing, Inc.
Seniors: 990 Polk Street in San Francisco; developed by Citizens Housing Corp. and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp.
Special-Needs: Rayen Apartments in Los Angeles; developed by A Community of Friends
Urban: The Preserve in New Orleans; developed by The Domain Cos.

At the conclusion of the luncheon, five individuals were inducted into the Affordable Housing Hall of Fame. In 2006, Affordable Housing Finance created the Hall of Fame to honor outstanding leadership and commitment in our industry. The 2009 inductees are an inspirational group of leaders who have worked for decades to serve low-income Americans and provide them with affordable housing.  

The 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Renee Lewis Glover, president and CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority
The late George Knight, former executive director of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.
John T. McEvoy, former executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies
Sister Lillian Murphy, CEO of Mercy Housing
The late Don Terner, principal founder and former executive director, BRIDGE Housing Corp.