MHP History & Background
Origins:
The Rev. Lon Dring, then director of Community Ministry of Montgomery County, and housing activist Peg McRory called a number of friends and acquaintances together to search for desperate solutions to both the affordable housing shortage and governments' inadequate responses in the summer of 1988. The one positive and viable suggestion was the formation of a housing non-profit that could work with the entire spectrum of the community on this issue.
Pat Heinaman, a housing expert, and Tad Baldwin, then a housing consultant, joined with Peg to assemble a board of directors which came to include members of the River Road Unitarian Church and several prominent homebuilders, Tony and Tom Natelli. The minister of River Road, Bill Murry, was our first chair. In 1989 MHP was incorporated and shortly thereafter Norman Christeller, just retiring as chair of the Planning Board, agreed to serve as the first president.
In 1991 Norm moved to Chair of the Board and Tad Baldwin was asked to
become president. A small staff of three worked through most of the
first five years, supported by the homebuilders, generous donations, and
development fees (from successful developments).
Instant Housing Thanks To The MPDU Program:
Given the general impatience of the founders with the normal multi-year development process, MHP decided to purchase completed units to get started promptly while at the same time beginning the multi-year development process on raw land. MHP proposed amendments to the county's MPDU law (Moderately Priced Dwelling Units, the country's first inclusionary zoning law) to allow non-profits to buy 6 and 2/3rds percent of the for-sale units, in addition to the 33 and 1/3 that HOC is permitted to buy.
The amendment passed, and board and builders loaned the needed money to purchase the first units while private financing and county below market second trust financing was arranged. Six units were purchased in the first year and now MHP owns and rents 65 of these homes to large households in locations reaching from Potomac to White Oak.
New Construction: Dring's Reach Apartments:
New construction was feasible because of building moratoriums due to
road capacity in the Eastern County that only allowed developments with
a high percentage of affordable units to be built. A site was located,
front money advanced by the county, and a competition held to select a
"turn-key" builder, Bozzuto Construction. The 104 unit garden complex,
completed in 1992, had half its units at below market rents, the balance
at market. It was appropriately named for the Rev. Lon Dring, our
inspiration.
Reuse and Rehabilitation in Three Locations:
The next three properties that MHP purchased were existing buildings in need of rehabilitation, a line of business that is now our major production route.
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Beall's Grant Apartments in Rockville (74 units)
This complex came to our attention as a foreclosed and boarded up motel, a victim of the commercial real estate downturn of the early 1990s. Purchased from the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), MHP was required to obtain acquisition and permanent financing as well as rezone the ground within a 99-day period. The efficiency, one, and two-bedroom apartments were created by joining motel rooms together. Half the units are below market in rent.
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Edinburgh House Apartments in Takoma Park (45 units)
This building became the property of the county when the prior owners defaulted on a rehab loan. MHP utilized county and Sandy Spring Bank funds to invest $1.3 million in new basic systems as well as community space and a nicely landscaped patio/play area.
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Amherst Square Apartments in Wheaton (125 units)
This rental complex was identified by the Wheaton Citizens Coalition (WCC) as the largest existing housing problem in Wheaton. The buildings and major systems were falling apart and the social problems multiplying. In conjunction with WCC, MHP purchased and rehabbed the structures with the advice of the residents and added a new community building and computer lab dedicated to the memory of Norman Christeller. 80 percent of these units are affordable and the population is heavily immigrant, largely from Central America.
Neighborhood Revitalization:
As MHP grew as a largely housing-oriented organization, it became evident that housing alone was not the answer in a variety of locations. Our mission has expanded to work in partnership on a variety of community concerns, several of which are illustrated below.
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Connecticut Avenue Estates (CAE)
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Cinnamon Woods in Gaithersburg
This up-county community approached MHP with a smaller version of the CAE problem and MHP has responded with a several unit purchase, rehab, and resale program as well as an extended consulting period on the more aggressive marketing of this community.
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Long Branch, in Eastern Silver Spring
This community has sought help for many years to help address a variety of problems which include inadequately maintained small and large apartment complexes, drugs, crime, and adjusting to an increasingly minority population. MHP has selected small apartment complexes as our most productive entry point and to date have purchased, rehabbed, and rented six buildings with a total of 61 units. In conjunction with DHCA, an Apartment Assistance Program has been established to assist small apartment owners to better maintain and manage their facilities. Work is proceeding via information seminars, loan programs, and a new mentoring program.
MHP was approached in 1996 by a community leader in CAE seeking help with the abandonment of semi-detached homes and a downward spiraling real estate market in this older, inner suburban community near the corner of Veirs Mill and Connecticut Avenue Extended. MHP first worked with the community to develop a community profile and work plan that led to priorities of neighborhood appearance, public safety, and the elimination of vacant units. We have purchased, rehabbed and resold 20 housing units which have not only help dramatically with the vacancy issue but led to new confidence by homeowners who have taken out an additional 38 home improvement loans from DHCA (the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs).
Community Life Programs:
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Homework Club:
The purpose of the Homework Club is to help children with their homework while providing a safe and enriching environment to work. Our goal is to have all the children completing their homework on a daily basis and to understand the importance of practice and routines. In addition to the homework help, the children participate in a reading program led by the Commonwealth Foundation.
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Summer Enrichment Program:
The purpose of the Summer Program is to provide an array of structured activities for the children during the summer. Our goal is to help children maintain their academic standing at school while having positive experiences.
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Pre-School Group:
The purpose of the group is to help pre-school age children get ready for school. The Group is set up as a school where children can play, explore and learn.
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Summer program for the Pre-School Group:
The purpose of the group is to nurture the pre-school’s children natural curiosity and to engage them in creativity projects.
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Teen Program:
The purpose of the Teen Program is to support the activities of middle school age children in a safe and supervised environment. As part of this Program, we organize camping trips and field trips for the children. Our goal is to better integrate the children in the community and to strongly encourage their participation in community activities.
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ESOL Program:
The purpose of the ESOL classes is to help the immigrant residents improve their language skills to better communicate and to become better integrated in the community.
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Computer Program:
The purpose of the Computer Program is to give computer access to the children and their families and to teach people how to use them. A curriculum has been specially developed for adults.