New Updates on PD&R Edge

In Practice:
Providing Affordable Housing Through Historic Preservation in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Opened in July 2021, Frost Terrace Apartments is a 40-unit affordable housing complex in the Porter Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The nearly 50,000-square-foot complex consists of 3 historic houses renovated to offer 12 apartments and a new 28-unit building between the historic homes. The development team collaborated closely with the city, community residents, and the Cambridge Historical Commission to preserve historic elements of the homes and ensure that the redesign would blend in with the adjacent buildings and streetscape. In contrast to the surrounding area, which primarily offers studios and one-bedroom units for individuals, Frost Terrace fills a need for more affordable family housing.

PD&R Leadership:
Best Housing Research and Data for 2023
In the Leadership Message, Todd Richardson, PD&R General Deputy Assistant Secretary, reviews important housing research and data from the past year. Richardson examines housing technology and resiliency research, efforts to end homelessness, improving housing assistance, and collaborations with international colleagues. He also highlights new functionality to PD&R’s USPS Vacant Address Data tool that will be of interest to nonprofits and government agencies.

PD&R at 50:
Housing Research with Tribes
PD&R has contributed to HUD’s work with Native American tribes in three important ways: it has sponsored research on housing needs and programs, funded studies on housing technology, and supported the development of allocation formulas. The history of HUD’s involvement with improving housing in tribal areas can be periodized into three distinct eras: 1961-1970s, 1970s-1996, and 1996-present. The passage of the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act of 1996 shifted decisionmaking on federal housing investments from federal officials to the tribes through the new Indian Housing Block Grant.

Trending:
Positive Rental History
Positive rental history, defined as making on-time rent payments of at least $300 per month for the previous 12 months, can demonstrate a household’s creditworthiness, though historically, it has not been commonly included in consumer credit reports. However, since March 2023, the Federal Housing Administration has required lenders to report positive rental history as an element in the Federal Housing Administration’s Technology Open to Approved Lenders (TOTAL) Scorecard to expand access to credit for first-time homebuyers.

Please send your comments and suggestions to editor@huduser.gov.