female graduate student with two male graduate students standing in front of an easel as they chat

Affordable Housing Development Competition Participants

Each year, the competition attracts a dedicated group of student coordinators, development organizations, and mentors who can be valuable resources to students who are participating. Please refer to the information below about forming a team, to see who's participating, and learn about developers and design and finance mentors who previously participated. 

Student Coordinators + How To Form A Team

The following student coordinators will be the main points of contact for participants throughout the 2024 Affordable Housing Development Competition: 

Below is some important information about how to form a team. 

There are no specific educational or professional credentials required to participate in the Affordable Housing Development Competition. Graduate students of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to compete. Students with educational or professional experience in design, planning, public policy, law, management, and advocacy will contribute different aspects to a development proposal. We request that participants have some familiarity with housing issues and a strong desire to learn about affordable-housing development.

Finding Teammates: The student coordinating committee will help students form teams through the registrations and at the introductory sessions. The meetings will explain how the competition works and introduce students to one another. The coordinators will place students on teams based on the information provided at the introductory sessions. Students who a registering with teammates will have an opportunity to provide this information to coordinators at the introductory sessions. 

Students do not need to establish a relationship with a development organization before registering their team. The competition sponsors and the student coordinating committee will host meetings to: 

  1. Introduce the organizations and the development sites, and,
  2. Finalize the pairings of student teams and development organizations.

Attendance at these meetings is required to participate in the competition. 

Team Requirements: At least two universities must be represented on each team. The ideal team will consist of six to eight interdisciplinary graduate students and include one or two members with strong design skills.  

Teams should be able to address some technical issues related to architectural design, project proformas, and financial feasibility. We recommend that you draw from diverse educational and professional backgrounds. Teams should expect to spend about 15 hours per week developing their proposals, with more time as the proposal deadline approaches. 

Teams are encouraged to work with a faculty advisor and can invite any faculty member with whom they have a relationship. 

Sponsors

In addition to FHLBank Boston, below are the sponsors of the competition. 

The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) is a partnership between the Boston Society of Architects (BSA/AIA) and the BSA Foundation (Foundation). As a member-led association, the BSA is one of the oldest and largest chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in the United States. Comprised of world-renowned architects, designers, engineers, builders, and other industry professionals, the BSA benefits from a committed membership who are some of the leading thinkers and innovators in professional practice today. The BSA operates as a convener, educator, and action leader to ensure that the power of design is fully employed in creating solutions to the equity and climate crises of our time. 

CohnReznick is a leading advisory, assurance, and tax firm, and helps forward-thinking organizations achieve their vision by optimizing performance, maximizing value, and managing risk. Clients benefit from the right team with the right capabilities; proven processes customized to their individual needs; and leaders with vital industry knowledge and relationships. Headquartered in New York, NY with offices nationwide, the firm serves organizations around the world through its global subsidiaries and membership in Nexia International.

The Kuehn Charitable Foundation supports three interests threaded through the late Bob Kuehn’s 35-year career as a real estate developer: affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space. KCF’s major program is the Kuehn Fellowship, a two-year fellowship pairing vetted Boston-area nonprofits with Fellows eager to address and gain real-world experience in one of our region’s most pressing challenges — affordable housing. The next cycle of Fellows will be chosen in 2025.

ICON Architecture, Inc., a Boston-based, women-owned firm with 50 staff, believes that everyone should love where they live. Our new paradigms for living range from infill transit-oriented development to innovative adaptive reuse, creating sustainable communities that energize residents and neighbors alike. We make better places for people to build their lives.

Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) is the leading statewide affordable housing policy and research organization in Massachusetts. Established in 1967, CHAPA advocates for increased opportunity and expanded access to housing so that every person in Massachusetts can have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home. CHAPA pursues its mission by building consensus among diverse interests in the housing field, including nonprofit and for-profit developers, advocates, homeowners, tenants, lenders, property managers, government officials, and many more.

Developers

The developers listed below are participating in the 2024 Affordable Housing Development Competition. 

Camfield Estates
Contact: Nolen Phya
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Roxbury, Massachusetts

This is an existing Section 8 project-based subsidized housing development in Roxbury. Given the immediate need for more affordable homes and in fulfillment of its mission of providing affordable housing for low-income Bostonians, the developer would like to explore building more units in a high rise-style development on top of their existing campus.

Caribbean Integration Community Development
Contact: Donald Alexis
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Medford, Massachusetts

The developer is exploring the feasibility of transforming a city-owned site into a mix of affordable homeownership and workforce housing. This site contains eight parcels and is located next to existing condos.

Housing NOW Partnership and Barone Galasso and Associates, Inc.
Contact: Michael Galasso
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Falmouth, Massachusetts

The site is a former 52,000-square-foot nursing home located on 1.67-acre parcel in downtown Falmouth under contract. The development team is working with the town for approval to convert it into 71 units of workforce housing. 

NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire
Contact: Robert Tourigny

Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Nashua, New Hampshire

This initiative is in very early pre-development but would consist of the acquisition of several small parcels of land assembled with land owned by the developer to create much-needed affordable housing in downtown Nashua. All housing would be new construction and support the revitalization of the Tree Streets neighborhood. 

Trinity Financial
Contact: Michael Lozano

Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Worcester, Massachusetts

This initiative is in very early pre-development but is part of the second phase of an historic downtown housing development in Worcester that would consist of new construction on an existing parking lot.

Way Finders
Contact: John Gilbert
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Site: Holyoke, Massachusetts

This initiative is envisioned as a multiphase urban infill development targeting approximately 100 new units of affordable, mixed-income housing and 25,000 square feet of commercial development. The project consists of four sites on High Street in downtown Holyoke, with the potential for a fifth lot depending on the owner’s willingness to sell.

Finance, Design Mentors, Judges

The following finance and design mentors are participating in the 2023 competition. The 2023 judges will be added soon.

Design Mentors

  • David Asher, Michaela Goodrich, Laura Cella-Mowatt, Iric Rex, and Ross Speer, Davis Square Architects
  • Erika DeRoche, Katelin Morgan, and John Mucciarone, ZeroEnergy Design
  • Alexandra Eastland and Sara Paclat, ICON Architecture
  • Tim Talun, Elkus Manfredi Architects

Finance Mentors

  • Allison Lee and Will Morgan, CEDAC
  • David Levy, Community Square Associates
  • Chris Lippert, Newburyport Bank
  • Nick Pittman, Fenway CDC
  • Lisa Sheehan and Aaron Gladden, Eastern Bank

 Judges

  • Anne Berman, Rhode Island Housing
  • Rawn Duncan, Citizens Bank
  • David Eisen, Abacus Architects + Planners
  • Peter Freeman, Freeman Law Group LLC
  • Emily Jones, LISC
  • Judy O’Connor, Chelmsford Housing Authority
  • Danyson Tavares, YouthBuild Boston

Overview

Get an overview of how the competition works.

Requirements

Before registering, read the submission and judging criteria.

Timeline

To get a better idea of timing and important deadlines, view this timeline.