McCormack Baron Salazar is a recognized pioneer and partner in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOPE VI community development program and its “mixed-finance model.”

From early 1994 through mid-1996, McCormack Baron Salazar worked with the Atlanta Housing Authority and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to include public housing in an expansion of the model of mixed-income housing that we had used to successfully revitalize urban neighborhoods. The result of these efforts was the public housing “mixed-finance model.” In March 1996 we closed the first HOPE VI mixed-finance deal in Atlanta (Centennial Place) and in April 1996 the first non-HOPE VI mixed-finance deal in St. Louis (Murphy Park). These two projects were the prototypes for HUD’s mixed-finance model, the Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) program.

The public housing mixed-finance model blends public housing funds with conventional debt, traditional “gap financing,” and tax credit equity that provides an economic mix of tenant incomes and ensures the long-term affordability of those units set aside as public housing.

The mix of housing types and range of affordability levels in these revitalized neighborhoods has ensured their stability by providing housing options that accommodate a wide range of family size, age of resident, and income level.

Our HOPE VI approach incorporates our process of integrating mixed-income housing development with schools, jobs, amenities, and social services. It has not only transformed distressed public housing projects, but has helped revitalize neighborhoods and attract new investment to places where the market was previously absent.