Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report Community Matters
Members
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2019
FCHC, a Virginia Community Development Corporation, relies on these valued partners in the pursuit of our mission. We appreciate their generosity and hope to gain more partners as we build on this foundation of support. Nancy Brandon Marilyn Bugg Madalyn Cafruny & Jeffrey Tarbert Susan & Christopher Earman C. Tutty Fairbanks Mary Fitzgerald Sara Fitzgerald & Walt Wurfel Ellen & Richard Flaherty Wendy Frieman & Col. David Johnson Mary Ellen & John Gannon
Laurie & Ian Graig Linda & Bill Hamill Edward Jenkins R.K & Dana Kaufman Korte Realty Judith & Randall Lemke Mary Ann Mahoney Barbara & Richard McCall Cindy Mester Christine & Brian O’Connor Ann O’Neil Glenda L. & Dr. Steven Rogers Nancy & Jim Scott
Edith & David Snyder Jeanne & Edward Trott Jon Wiant
30 Years of Investing in Affordable Housing
At FCHC, a Virginia Housing Development Corporation, we are constantly striving towards building and preserving a supportive future for the City of Falls Church and the DC Metro area.
What do we mean by supportive?
In 2019, FCHC continued its civic support for the City of Falls Church by sponsoring a fifth housing intern for the City’s Housing and Human Services Division. Like the four previous interns FCHC sponsored, this
Richard F. Burns
Thomas G. Vaccaro
year’s student rose to the challenges of the role by contributing to the City Council and Housing Commission’s understanding of current affordable housing issues impacting Falls Church.
At Winter Hill, FCHC’s 83 unit senior affordable housing community, the residents are offered programs designed to keep them connected to the outside world. These support services include annual celebrations marking the Lunar New Year and St. Patrick’s Day. Residents also enjoy regular technology and yoga classes, Brown Bag Lunches, speaker programs and always popular Bingo games. These get-togethers provide social interaction as well as proven health advantages. Additional support comes in the form of interpretive and translation services for Winter Hill’s large Vietnamese population. A grant from the City’s Community Service Fund helped ensure residents were able to participate in programs and services from which they receive tangible benefit. Our newly expanded mission statement more accurately captures FCHC’s role as an important financing partner, now and for the future, in supporting the creation and preservation of the area’s affordable housing. Via pre-development and bridge loans, FCHC’s 2019 investments played a major role in the construction of 814 affordable rental units at six properties in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Finally, we cannot say enough about the valuable support of the volunteers and organizations that sustain our efforts via financial and in-kind service contributions. And you, our members, your support is the foundation of our efforts and will allow us to achieve even more in the future.
Richard F. Burns President, FCHC
Thomas G. Vaccaro
Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, FCHC
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FCHC Community Engagement
Housing Commission FCHC continues to serve as a liaison to the Falls Church Housing Commission. FCHC’s liaison role provides not-for-profit private sector experience to the Housing Commission and advice on issues related to housing, urban development, and affordable housing. Summer Internship We are proud to continue building on our successful Housing Intern Program, now in its fifth year, by sponsoring Thomas Scott, the 2019 intern for the City of Falls Church Housing and Human Services Division (“HHSD”). Thomas is a resident of Virginia and a graduate student at the Biden School of Public Policy at the University of Delaware who displayed a strong work ethic and a keen interest in housing policy. Thomas began his internship with an in-depth report on the status of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (“LIHTC”) properties in the towns and cities surrounding Falls Church. This report provided members of the City Council and Housing Commission with valuable information regarding the potential impact and suitability of the LIHTC program in the City of Falls Church. Thomas’s continued interest in housing policy led him to conduct substantial research regarding the City of Falls Church’s tax and revenue policies, and how further incremental tax revenue could be specifically earmarked to an affordable housing fund. The Mission of FCHC: A Virginia Community Development Corporation At the annual Board of Directors meeting, the mission of FCHC was expanded to better reflect the organization’s widening efforts to support affordable housing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The mission of FCHC now reads as follows:
FCHC Virginia Community Development Corporation is a not-for-profit real estate organization dedicated to expanding and improving opportunities for low- and moderate- income households in the Washington, D.C. metro area, including providing loans for the predevelopment and acquisition of affordable housing properties.
Supporting Affordable Housing in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Per the expansion of the mission statement, FCHC functions as a lending institution, concentrating on establishing returns from socially responsible investments in the region’s affordable housing stock. In 2019, FCHC’s investments in affordable housing (via the advancement of predevelopment and bridge loans) helped facilitate the construction of 814 units at four properties in the District of Columbia and two properties in Maryland. FCHC will continue to evaluate meaningful projects in which to invest, and which further the crucial mission of the organization in expanding the stock of valuable affordable housing in the region. FCHC Portfolio Asset Management (CDBG) Operations at Winter Hill continued to be very stable in 2019. Winter Hill was virtually 100% occupied in 2019 with minimal turnover, and annual vacancy loss was less than 1.5%. Projected 2019 net cash flow at Winter Hill after debt service is $123,000.
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The City of Falls Church continues to be very supportive of our mission at Winter Hill as several projects have been completed in the past years using Community Development Block Grants (“CDBG Funds”). In 2019, Winter Hill was awarded $63,000 in CDBG funding which was used to reface an additional 23 balconies. This project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operation Pathways Programming for FCHC Residents Operation Pathways programs for all FCHC residents are conducted in the James Moran Community Center at Winter Hill. Under the thoughtful leadership of the Resident Services Coordinator at Winter Hill, Dong Bui, FCHC offered the following programming in Fiscal Year 2019: Amazon Fire Tablet Program—Community Service Fund FCHC requested and was awarded a $2,500 grant from the City of Falls Church Community Service Fund on behalf of Winter Hill to provide residents access to Amazon Fire tablets. Operation Pathways is committed to providing our residents with the tools necessary to maintain their ability to live independently, grow their capacity to socialize, preserve their cognitive functions, and combat debilitating neurological diseases. One of the greatest health concerns for seniors, age 55 or older, is a loss of cognitive functions. Over one quarter of Americans suffer from dementia or other cognitive-related diseases by the time they reach their mid-80s. Many studies have indicated that a lack of social and mental stimulation can influence the development of cognitive decline and neurological diseases. With this funding from the City of Falls Church, we provided our residents with refurbished Amazon Fire tablets in order to further increase their capacity to socialize and foster mental stimulation, reducing factors that may influence the onset of neurological diseases. Residents took classes for three months and received a tablet to take home upon completion of the program. Community Service Fund The Community Service Fund (“CSF”) is an annual competitive grant program that provides funds to not-for-profit organizations seeking City support for human service programs and activities serving City of Falls Church residents. The majority of Winter Hill residents are from racially diverse backgrounds, with the highest percentage being Vietnamese and who speak English as a second language. FCHC provides service-enriched housing through the programs offered and administered on site by the resident services coordinator (“RSC”). The CSF grant assisted the RSC by providing interpretive services at some large-scale events. The RSC at Winter Hill interprets and translates various documents for Vietnamese-speaking residents, however, the RSC is not always able to work individually with residents, especially at larger events. The CSF grant helps ensure that residents are able to participate in programs and services from which they can benefit. With these CSF-awarded funds, more than 50 Winter Hill residents received improved delivery of on-site and outside services.
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Our Mission FCHC’s mission is to preserve and increase service enriched affordable rental housing, serve unmet needs, and help to ensure that low to moderate income people have housing they can afford.
330-B.S. VIRGINIA AVENUE, SUITE 2, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 • 703.241.540 fchccdc.org
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