Wishing everyone well this summer!
Although we know the pandemic is not over, we hope most if not all of you are vaccinated and have enjoyed at least a few Covid-safe events or gatherings. Even as the surging pandemic and economic conditions remain uncertain, we are still planning our first project and want to pass along a few updates.
Highlights
We anticipate the City making an award to a developer on the Ryan Drive project any day now.
In readying ourselves for more formal operations, we want to formally report our prospective housing co-op numbers are growing! We also have exciting new, younger players volunteering for board services:
Financial consultant, Blake Herner Vice President, Loan Operations Farm Credit Banks.
Board member, musician and graduate student, Jennifer Bernard.
We heartily welcome them both!
And, as we continue to flesh out our board and committee assignments, we hope to soon announce that we’ve engaged yet a third younger volunteer with both nonprofit and project management experience to help support our work!
We already have a firm relationship with board members of the Austin Cooperative Business Association (ACBA) and their 501c3 nonprofit foundation (ACBF). We are currently talking with them about strengthening our relationship.
Finally, we are researching and learning about Community Land Trusts (CLTs). They are one of the best ways to stabilize affordable housing in volatile markets and conserve housing for middle-income earners providing “long-term affordable homeownership units’’ that are “a reliable, sound investment for public and private partners” (Eliza Platts-Mills, 2018). We are very interested in learning more about CLTs and exploring how to develop additional Boomers Collaborative cooperatives through a CLT. We hope to soon discuss the need for public investment in CLTs with City Council members and other City officials.
Lowlights
Based on the City’s RFP and final projections for development of the entire Ryan Drive site, we learned we must pivot our model to a much smaller and alternate version. Because the entire development will meet our mixed-use needs and we were assured we can still meet our mission, we happily agreed to this change to lease our cooperative units directly from the developer.
Thank Yous
Many thanks to our new and prospective volunteers for stepping up to help bring a new model for shared housing to life.
Additional thanks to Drew De Los Santos with ACBA / F and Ryan Nill of CHEA Community Housing Expansion of Austin and ROC (Resident Owned Communities) USA for giving of their time and sharing their housing cooperative development expertise and knowledge with us.
Both of you are essential to our progress!
Asks
Having attended a recent Donorbox webinar by featuring fundraising expert Jay Frost, we are seeking a significant relationship with a single central Texas donor.
Works Cited
Eliza Platts-Mills, C. P. (2018, Summer). A Guide for Developing Community Land Trust Affordable Homeownership Programs in Texas, First Edition. (Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic) Retrieved July 20, 2021, from University of Texas School of Law.
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