Real Returns - CIC's Investor Newsletter

We moved! Same building, new suite: CIC is now located at 222 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 380.

December 2017

Real Returns: CIC's Investor Newsletter

Back in the Game: CDFIs Help 1- to 4-Unit Housing Rebound in Chicago

In the Fall 2017 edition of Shelterforce , CIC's Stacie Young, Director of The Preservation Compact, describes how a desire to creatively address a glaring market need drove three Chicago CDFI's - CIC, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), and the Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) - to effectively collaborate to address vacant 1-4 unit buildings.


	One of over 600 previously vacant properties rehabbed under the Chicago CDFI Collaborative. Photo by Gordon Walek.

Through a JPMorgan Chase PRO Neighborhoods grant, the Chicago CDFI Colla borative partners have leveraged $41 million to support the redevelopment of nearly 600 housing units. Daniel Sprehe, Managing Director for Corporate Responsibility at JP Morgan Chase explains, "The Chicago case study illustrates what CDFIs can accomplish, and the potential unleashed when they deploy their resources collectively."

Read the full Shelterforce article here.

CRA Begins at 40

In November, CIC joined practitioners, bankers, regulators, academics, and government officials to explore the future of community reinvestment in low and moderate income communities across the U.S.

CIC President Jack Markowski provided opening remarks at the Annual Policy and Practice Conference of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) and the Center for Community Lending, followed by keynote speakers including HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, US Senator Maria Cantwell, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary Craig Phillips, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika.

CIC President Jack Markowski addresses NAAHL members at the

National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Key themes throughout the day included the importance of public-private partnerships, the need to preserve and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and the opportunities available to streamline and clarify CRA enforcement so that it promotes effective investment in communities that need it most.

Conference presentations can be accessed here.

Cro ss-Sector Preservation Strategies: Exporting Lessons Learned from Chicago to Detroit

CIC and The Preservation Compact recently hosted a delegation of housing and community development practitioners and policy experts from Detroit. Through the generous support of the Urban Institute, the two-day exchange provided an opportunity to share The Preservation Compact's approach to preserving affordable housing in Chicago, and explore ways that a similar model might be implemented in Detroit.

At the opening reception, stakeholders from the City of Detroit, Detroit Future City, Development Advocates of Detroit, U-SNAP-BAC, Detroit Land Bank Authority, Southwest Housing Solutions, and others were welcomed by Julia Stasch of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Erika Poethig of the Urban Institute, and Jack Markowski, CIC President.

Earlier this year, the Urban Institute published The Detroit Housing Market: Challenges and Innovations for a Path Forward, a report analyzing housing market demand, supply, and credit access in Detroit. One of the major recommendations was that Detroit stakeholders consider forming a Detroit Housing Compact - modeled after The Preservation Compact - that could draw upon the leadership of cross-sector stakeholders to address Detroit's most pressing housing issues.

A delegation of housing experts from Detroit joined CIC and The Preservation Compact

for two days of discussion and exchange.

CIC Highlighted on American Bankers Association 2017 Community Development Tour

Over 100 bankers from across the country saw firsthand the exciting progress taking place in Chicago's Woodlawn and Englewood communities, during a tour at the 2017 American Bankers Association (ABA) Annual Convention. CIC, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), and the Federal Home Loan Bank together hosted the tour, which included stops at Metrosquash and the Englewood Square Whole Foods located at 63rd Street and Halsted. The tour also showcased several of the over 170 buildings CIC has helped to improve in Woodlawn.

Since 2002, CIC has invested $22.7 million in Woodlawn, by providing financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing and commercial units, and by directly intervening on vacant and distressed buildings.

About CIC

Since 1984, CIC has provided more than $1.3 billion to acquire, rehab and preserve 59,000 units of affordable housing for more than 147,000 metro Chicago residents. A recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, CIC programs also include Energy Savers, the Troubled Buildings Initiative, The Preservation Compact and Property Management Training. For more information, visit cicchicago.com .