Online conference on reviving vacant properties

The demolition of the Rochambeau Apartment building in Baltimore, in the heart of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood on Charles Street, is not an award-winning housing restoration strategy, nor a great endorsement of the City of Baltimore's approach to urban revitalization. (Baltimore Sun photo)

From NHI/Shelterforce:

Our friends at the Fannie Mae Foundation have just announced the 2006 Maxwell Awards of Excellence, which this year went to organizations working on the problem of abandoned and vacant property.

Working with the National Vacant Properties Campaign, they selected four organizations doing outstanding work turning vacant properties into vibrant communities. On November 2, KnowledgePlex will present an online chat with the winners. Information about the event is below.

Turning abandoned properties into community assets is, of course, of special importance to us. With the help of the Fannie Mae and Ford foundations, we recently published a book on the topic – Bringing Buildings Back by our research director, Alan Mallach. For information about the book, please click here. And for a fascinating observation/review of a presentation made by Alan at the National Building museum a few weeks ago, please see Richard Layman's blog entry, "Bringing buildings back is really bringing urban neighborhoods back."

We congratulate all the Maxwell Award winners, and want to note that one group – Lawrence CommunityWorks – was featured in Shelterforce in March/April 2005 and again in the Summer 2006 issue.

We hope you have the opportunity to listen to the online chat. It should be well worth your time.

From Vacant Property to Affordable Homes -- Lessons from Maxwell Award Winners
Thursday, November 2 at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT/noon MT/11 a.m. PT)

Reclaiming vacant and abandoned properties to create affordable homes is one innovative way to address the affordable housing challenge. It can strengthen communities through the redevelopment of blighted properties, recreating vibrant places while also providing much-needed affordable homes.

On Thursday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. ET, KnowledgePlex will present an online chat featuring representatives from the organizations that won top honors in the Maxwell Awards (see list of winners below). We'll hear about the challenges the groups faced and the strategies and best practices they used in completing their projects.

Click here for more information about the chat and how to participate.

2006 Maxwell Award Winners

Most Impressive Overall Housing Benefit:
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation for the Harold Washington Unity Cooperative in Chicago

Most Innovative Partnership:
Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development Inc. for Acushnet Commons in New Bedford, Mass.
Most Successful Public/Private Partnership:
New Economics for Women for Tierra del Sol in Los Angeles

Most Effective Catalyst for Community Revitalization:
Lawrence CommunityWorks for Reviviendo Family Housing in Lawrence, Mass.
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I will be at the National Trust Conference next week and likely unable to listen in on this. Fortunately, Knowledgeplex archives these presentations, check out Chat Archives on this webpage.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization