The Landings at Maysville High School

Developer: Wallick-Hendy Development Company, LLC
Owner: Wallick Asset Management LLC
Location: Maysville, Ky.

Wallick-Hendy Development Company LLC earned the award for the 2015 Historic Development that Overcame Significant Obstacles for rehabilitating an affordable rental housing development in Maysville, The Landings at Maysville High School, a formerly abandoned high school, provides 29 units of affordable housing for people of low to moderate income.

Alexis Dunfee, development associate at Wallick-Hendy Development Company, said that after years of disinvestment and mismanagement, the building's condition was in sharp decline and the development was unable to function at a sustainable level. The development team employed several creative solutions to restore the property and preserve affordable housing. By collaborating with the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), developers were able to forgive existing HOME funds notes, while creating a financing structure that combined low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) with historic tax credits (HTCs). Rehabilitation included substantially upgrading the development with high-end finishes and fixtures, Wi-Fi capabilities, hardwood floors, Energy Star ceiling fans, water-conserving bath and sink fixtures, Energy Star heating and cooling, and enhanced security systems.

Wallick-Hendy also collaborated with a local nonprofit, Buffalo Trace Housing Corporation, to raise community awareness and support, as well as dispel negative public perception about the apartment complex. Buffalo Trace Housing Corporation helped the development team by advising on how to satisfy the needs of the local community, including selecting suitable outreach programs and services for the needs of existing and future residents. Dunfee said that as the building deteriorated and criminal activity increased around the apartments, residents began to leave, causing a large decrease in rental income. The growing negative perception of the building also dissuaded the city of Maysville from aiding the situation. To counter the building's increased vacancy and negative reputation, Buffalo Trace Housing Corporation held community engagement events to promote a positive image of the buildings, helping the development gain support from the city of Maysville and other local organizations.

"Through years of mismanagement and disinvestment, this property was in dire need of an expert team to restructure the existing debt … and give it a big dose of reinvestment. Through community support, the Kentucky Housing Corporation was convinced to forgive the existing HOME fund indebtedness, and the developer then utilized the HTC and state and federal LIHTC programs to fill the funding gaps that enabled the re-purposed school building to be brought up to standard for 29 units of affordable housing."  – Paul Norris, Consortium Structured Investments

Carriage Factory Apartments

Developer: DePaul Properties
Owner: DePaul
Location: Rochester, N.Y.

DePaul Properties earned honorable mention for the 2015 Historic Development that Overcame Significant Obstacles for transforming the historic Cunningham Carriage Factory into an affordable rental housing development in Rochester, N.Y. Carriage Factory Apartments provides 71 studio, one- and two-bedrooms units for residents with income that ranges from 30 to 60 percent of the area medium income (AMI).

During the rehabilitation of the Carriage Factory Apartments building, DePaul Properties overcame several construction obstacles. E. Joseph Giboons, principal at SWBR Architects, said that at time of construction, the building was rapidly deteriorating. Most of the building's structure needed to be replaced, including the windows and wood flooring that was missing, deeply saturated with oil or contained asbestos. The design team also creatively repurposed salvaged materials to maintain the historical integrity of the building. They used salvaged wood to construct accent walls and ceilings, and repurposed an original Cunningham carriage for display in the lobby.

"The re-purposing of a dilapidated factory building to a low-income multifamily housing project while creatively preserving the historic nature of the building involved is a striking example of adaptive reuse." – Cathleen Beauchamp, Symetra Financial Corporation