Practice Area Archives - Page 4 of 12

Supporting Municipal Power in Puerto Rico

July 11, 2024 / Comments Off

HR&A was instrumental in the formation of La Liga, an organization that equipped Puerto Rican mayors with unprecedented communication channels in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and we continue to provide strategic and analytic support to help the organization build collective action, resilience, and more effective local government on the Island.

La Liga is a first-of-its-kind, community-focused, collaborative vehicle for Puerto Rico to address fiscal, economic, rebuilding challenges and gain deserved visibility and support from the U.S. mainland — work that emerged from necessity in the wake of a climate disaster and continues to build a more resilient and prosperous future for the people living there.

In the years since La Liga was formed, HR&A helped design and execute La Liga’s Municipal Innovation Laboratory, which offers a tailored, comprehensive curriculum to promote equity-driven community power, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and economic well-being for local governments in Puerto Rico. HR&A also designed La Liga’s Federal Funding Navigator, an online platform that streamlines municipalities’ access to funding opportunities provided by the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This tool simplifies the process of accessing over $107 billion for which Puerto Rico is eligible for climate change and infrastructure projects.

Supporting Trinity Church Philanthropies to End Mass Homelessness and Mass Incarceration in New York City

July 11, 2024 / Comments Off

For the past several years, HR&A has provided strategic partnership to Trinity Church Philanthropies to help them advance their goals of ending mass incarceration and mass homelessness in New York City.

HR&A supported Trinity Church Wall Street to launch Faith Communities for Just Reentry (FCJR), a coalition of over 40 faith leaders across New York State demanding that City leaders take action to ensure that New Yorkers leaving city jails transition home effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic. HR&A supported the development of the coalition’s policy platform, which includes keeping people safe during the pandemic, ensuring justice-involved families can access housing, and calling for the creation of a coordinated reentry system.

HR&A also provided direct support to Trinity’s grantees, including helping Fountain House — a national nonprofit that serves and advocates for people living with serious mental illness — plan for the expansion of its effective clubhouse model, which has been shown to dramatically reduce homelessness and improve health outcomes for its members. To support Trinity’s goals, HR&A analyzed how public hospital real estate assets could be repositioned to address the needs of patients experiencing homelessness and on the workforce it will need over the next decade to implement evidence-driven, community-based programs — such as permanent supportive housing — that have been shown to reduce homelessness, hospitalization, and jail admission.

Transition for Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato

July 11, 2024 / Comments Off

Starting the morning after Sara Innamorato was elected as the first female County Executive in Allegheny County, HR&A provided intensive daily project management and strategic guidance to her transition and helped create an Action Plan to guide her Administration.

First, we structured and supported a Transition Committee of over 200 diverse community leaders, organizers, local employers, academics, and government experts. With this committee, HR&A sourced, vetted, and recommended appointments to critical leadership positions in County departments and the Executive Offices. We also designed and implemented All In Allegheny, the largest community engagement initiative in County history. Nearly 19,000 residents responded to the All In community issue survey, sharing the actions they would like County government to take on topics including housing affordability, infrastructure projects, neighborhood safety, small business support, reducing pollution, and supporting young people. HR&A project managed the development of the All In Action Plan, in which the Innamorato Administration lays out the 91 actions it will take over the next several years to deliver on the community priorities articulated in the survey findings and workshops held across the County. This Action Plan was released on County Executive Innamorato’s 100th Day in Office, in mid-April 2024.

HR&A’s proven ability to translate newly elected leaders’ campaign promises into tangible reforms has been enshrined in a playbook prepared for Local Progress, a movement of elected municipal officials who activate the powers of local government to advance racial equity and economic justice.

Supporting SEIU State Public Banking Legislation

June 8, 2023 / Comments Off

HR&A Advisors worked with a coalition of racial and economic justice organizations, financial access advocates, and labor unions, including the California Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the California Public Banking Alliance, to provide analysis of the financial and social impacts of unfair banking access to support advocacy for the California Public Banking Option Act (AB-1177). Our findings showed how inadequate and disparate access to free and safe banking accounts results in billions of dollars lost to the California economy annually, contributes to people remaining in poverty, and increases the use of taxpayer dollars towards providing social services.

In October 2021, the California Assembly and Senate passed the California Public Banking Option Act and Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law in a move that sets the foundation for providing universal access to banking that will benefit households, local economies, and taxpayers. This is the first bill in the nation guaranteeing universal banking access, paving the way towards giving all Californians access to high-quality, low-cost financial services. 80.7% of unbanked Californians earn less than $15 per hour, and nearly half of Black and 41.1% of Hispanic households in California are unbanked or underbanked. Unbanked communities lack access to basic financial services — like checking and savings accounts — that are critical to financial stability.

HR&A Advisors novel analysis examined who is not being served by the formal banking system, where they live, what the financial costs are to individuals and to the economy of un- and under-banking, and the economic benefits of the legislation to California. AB-1177 established a framework to study the feasibility and implement the CalAccount public banking option program, an alternative to the high fees that many Californians face from existing predatory banking options that stand as a barrier to wealth accumulation.

Our analysis delineated how the CalAccount program could offer critical services to Californians and become self-sufficient within the next five years. CalAccount could draw on existing state programs to reach a customer base of millions of Californians resulting in an estimated $3.3 billion in savings for low-income households, potentially creating 22,000 jobs, and boosting the California economy by an estimated $4.2 billion by redirecting spending away from costly interest and fees.

Photo: Louis Velazquez

NYC Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Assessment for For-Hire Vehicles

February 14, 2023 / Comments Off

In 2022, Uber engaged HR&A to assess the current state of electric vehicle (“EV”) charging infrastructure available to New York City’s for-hire drivers and what is needed to reach the Mayor’s goal for zero emissions by 2030.

The report revealed critical gaps in the New York City’s infrastructure that will pose significant challenges to achieving this transition in the next 7 years and identified a set of strategies that bring together the City, utilities, EV charging companies, and mission-driven landowners to work together to accelerate the path to a cleaner, greener future.

The report recommends 10 strategies that will support enhanced access and affordability to EV charging infrastructure, build the processes and systems to support for-hire driver needs, and help achieve the 2030 zero-emissions goal:

Identify high-need neighborhoods that overlap with where for-hire drivers live to prioritize where to place low cost and fast chargers.
Work with utilities to identify high-volume pick-up and drop-off areas in which the grid currently has capacity to support new fast chargers.
Develop a comprehensive EV infrastructure deployment plan to strengthen coordination with utilities, optimizing the City’s ability to achieve its emission reduction and environmental equity goals, and electrify the for-hire vehicle fleet.
Aggressively pursue new federal funding opportunities to direct investment to target neighborhoods.
Streamline the permit process for EV charging as part of the City’s ongoing efforts to improve land-use processes.
Leverage real estate assets owned/managed by public or faith-based entities to provide land for accessible, affordable chargers in targeted neighborhoods and near high-volume trip areas.
Explore land use incentives for private developers to integrate public chargers with no gate/parking fees into new developments.
Continue targeted outreach and engagement specific to the for-hire vehicle industry.
Support EV charging operators in communicating electricity prices and charger availability with drivers, as well as in developing driver-centric incentives to reduce charging during peak load times.
Further develop a new pricing structure for the cost of power for charging operators that makes charging more affordable.

The report findings were announced within this Op Ed in the Gotham Gazette on February of 2023.

Read the report here.

FLOW Youth Center

October 10, 2022 / Comments Off

HR&A has been working with a coalition of advocacy groups including JusticeLA (JLA) and Designing Justice+Designing Spaces (DJDS) in their efforts to advance projects around L.A. County’s transformative Care First Community Investment (CFCI). JusticeLA is a collaborative of several L.A. based organizations organizing with communities to disrupt where and how L.A. County incarcerates justice-involved individuals. DJDS is the nation’s foremost design nonprofit working to build and transform communities through restorative Justice. DJDS will steward an authentic, ground up engagement effort with community to design, build and operate new infrastructure that challenges the traditional paradigm around justice and incarceration. HR&A developed a concept plan for a pilot campus in Long Beach that builds on DJDS’s argument: that community-based solutions including mental health, substance abuse treatment, jail diversion, and quality design can disrupt the revolving door for justice-involved individuals. In 2022, DJDS, JLA, and HR&A released a concept paper, proposing the development of a piece of the FLOW (For the Love of Well-being) Youth Center.

The FLOW Youth Center will be a new prototype for juvenile restorative justice, designed to break the cycle of investing in punishment by reinvesting in spaces and programs focused on care and healing. The Center will proactively address the root causes of youth incarceration and the lack of physical infrastructure and associated programming for holistic health services, education, and employment. Our concept paper describes an innovative and replicable process for radically inclusive, equitable, community-engaged design for restorative justice.

HR&A worked with JLA and DJDS to develop a robust engagement strategy and the estimated time and budget to complete the work outlined within the concept plan. With this concept paper as a guide for development, DJDS is currently looking for partners in government and philanthropy to invest in their concept development fund and inspire grass roots efforts to design and build these centers throughout Los Angeles and the country. We look forward to continuing this partnership as DJDS and JusticeLA work with communities to transform the built environment and L.A.’s criminal justice system.

Richmond Business Recovery Action Plan

October 5, 2022 / Comments Off

HR&A collaborated with the City of Richmond to develop inclusive recovery principles and a comprehensive Business Recovery Action Plan targeting small and locally-owned businesses. Our approach identified critical recovery needs, streamlined access to resources, and established actionable strategies that the City continues to implement, including expanded grant programs and improved service delivery for underserved business owners.

Richmond’s small businesses needed targeted support during economic recovery, particularly businesses owned by people of color who were reluctant to take on additional debt in an uncertain environment after the pandemic. HR&A conducted comprehensive analysis of recovery needs and available resources, developing actionable recommendations that expanded grant programs and removed barriers to accessing City services. We identified opportunities to leverage federal recovery dollars for workforce development while emphasizing solutions that could advance meaningfully within six months and align with principles of equitable recovery.

The resulting Business Recovery Action Plan prioritized achievable six-month milestones aligned with equity principles, leading to tangible outcomes including the establishment of a new Economic Development Working Group and development of buy-local initiatives. HR&A supported the City with implementing the plan through multi-stakeholder facilitation and then developed a long-term business investment and attraction strategy. The City’s ongoing commitment to underserved residents led to HR&A’s subsequent retention for community-centered allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds, demonstrating the sustained impact of our collaborative approach to inclusive economic recovery.

Explore:

Business Recovery Action Plan

SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District Development

September 30, 2022 / Comments Off

Universities across the country are taking on new roles to increase opportunity for their students, faculty, and surrounding communities by creating inclusive spaces for innovation.

San Diego State University (SDSU) made the bold move to purchase a 135-acre site from the City of San Diego to create SDSU Mission Valley, a mixed-use, transit-oriented community that will help expand SDSU’s educational, research, and entrepreneurial missions. This site will include a 1.6 million square foot Innovation District, up to 4,600 residential units, a multi-use stadium, and over 80 acres of parks and open space. The entire project will increase career opportunities for SDSU’s 35,000 students, 54% of whom are students of color, and grow SDSU’s $5.7 billion annual impact on the San Diego region.

Quidel Corporation, a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, cellular-based virology assays and molecular diagnostic systems, was announced in July of 2022 as the first partner in the Innovation District and a Founding Partner at SDSU’s Snapdragon Stadium. SDSU expects more private, public and non-profit-sector partners to be announced in the coming months, who will contribute to interdisciplinary hubs of research and innovation.

We collaborated with SDSU to refine a vision and business plan for the Innovation District and to guide refinement of a master plan for the district. We are currently supporting the procurement of a developer to construct as much as 500,000 square feet of space within the Innovation District, where SDSU will expand its research presence to anchor the new development.

SDSU Innovation District Quad and Public Realm, Image courtesy of SDSU.

Minimum standards for JPA-sponsored, California Middle Income Housing Conversion Transactions

September 30, 2022 / Comments Off

The housing supply crisis in California is being addressed through a wide range of critical yet complex public and private investments. But very few resources support new housing for middle-income households.

In the last two years, three California Joint Powers Authorities (“JPA”) and their developer partners, with approval from local governments, have originated more than $5 billion of tax-exempt bonds paired with property tax exemptions to finance acquisition of 9,000 apartments, which will be converted into affordable rentals for middle-income households. The total financing exceeds the current $3.7 billion annual allocations of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for low- and very low-income households in California.

Our work with local governments across the state has been focused on ensuring that these investments maximize public benefits and meet local policy objectives. Our project evaluations help guide negotiations for this new type of transaction and illuminate the issues that local governments in California should consider before approving participation in these transactions.

A white paper, co-authored with the California Housing Partnership and CSG Advisors, guides our analysis approach and highlights the urgent need for local governments to carefully weigh the merits of middle-income housing JPA bond transaction proposals. As a result of this work, Assembly Member Ward proposed AB 1850 to establish minimum standards for JPA-sponsored middle-income conversion transactions.

Project evaluation examples include two for City of Long Beach, where we helped negotiate better terms for a 215-unit building conversion, the Oceanaire and new construction of a 580 units, the Midblock Civic Center.

Image courtesy of Oceanaire

Greater Corktown Neighborhood Framework & Choice Neighborhood Implementation

August 31, 2021 / Comments Off

In May 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the award of a $30M Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant to the City of Detroit that will make the Corktown Framework Plan a reality. The grant and Framework Plan were both a direct result of work HR&A has done over the last 2 years in Detroit to identify strategies that deliver equitable economic development.

The Greater Corktown Neighborhood Framework, shaped by the community and released in November 2020, focuses on reinforcing this vibrant and diverse neighborhood as a place of opportunity for all residents, leveraging transformative investment under way by the Ford Motor Company in a new mobility innovation district anchored by the revitalized Michigan Central Train Station. HR&A’s team, led by Kate Collignon, worked with Perkins & Will and the Detroit Planning Department to set the stage for neighborhood infrastructure and policies that preserve affordability while fueling neighborhood and citywide economic growth. The plan dovetails with the creation of the 27.5-mile Joe Louis Greenway — plans for which HR&A also supported as part of a team led by Smithgroup – which will increase mobility and recreational opportunities, and connect neighborhoods throughout Detroit to employment centers like that emerging in Corktown.

This plan became the basis for the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant application. Under the agency’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, five communities received a combined $150M to invest in neighborhoods to spur comprehensive revitalization. Working alongside the Detroit City Housing Department, an HR&A team led by Phillip Kash developed an approach and helped to prepare the application that led to a $30M award for Corktown. This is HR&A’s second successful Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant application. The first was for the redevelopment of the Saint Paul’s Quadrant in Norfolk, VA.

Now awarded, the Choice Grant will serve as the foundation of making The Corktown Plan a reality. It will preserve the existing public housing in the neighborhood and create more than 700 new affordable and mixed-income homes. In addition, the grant will leverage over $800M in additional public and private investment in public space, community facilities and commercial development.

The redevelopment approach sets a new gold standard for public housing redevelopment:

It will follow the Build First principal. New affordable housing will be built for current public housing residents before any units are demolished, ensuring that no one is forced out.
It will exceed 1:1 replacement for deeply affordable units. When completed there will be 152 units that are deeply affordable units as opposed to the 87 that existed before.
The supply of affordable housing in the neighborhood will increase, even as the market strengthens. In addition to the 152 deeply affordable units (30% AMI), there will be another 500+ units of affordable housing.
There will be affordable homeownership, and the opportunity to build wealth. The project includes 150 units of affordable homeownership and $5M in down payment assistance to make those homes affordable for households who would otherwise lack the wealth to purchase them.
Nonprofit ownership and control will increase. The Community Builders, a well-respected national nonprofit, will own and operate the majority of the housing developed. The current ownership is entirely by for-profit organizations.

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