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Los Angeles Symposium to Explore How to Finance 'Green' Affordable Housing, Meet New LA Green Building Ordinance

LOS ANGELES, May 6 PRNewswire-USNewswire — On Earth Day, April 22, 2008, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council adopted a progressive Climate Action Plan intended to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions. It requires real estate developers to meet new sustainable building standards in certain new projects - an example of a growing national trend of state and local governments mandating environmentally friendly building standards.

National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) is convening affordable housing developers and finance professionals for a two-day symposium on May 15-16 to explore challenges and solutions to funding, building, and operating "Green" affordable housing projects. The 2008 Spring Developers Forum will draw leading regional and national developers to explore effective techniques to finance sustainable affordable housing in today's uncertain economic environment. This symposium, to be held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, is open to the public; however, there is a registration fee.

While developers generally agree on the need to develop real estate projects in a "greener" fashion, they face the challenge of how to finance the added upfront costs associated with sustainable building techniques. Rising energy prices combined with the fallout of a shrinking economy, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and broader credit crunch are forcing affordable housing developers to abandon projects targeted for California's most vulnerable populations.

Through cutting-edge case studies and multi-disciplinary roundtable discussions involving industry leaders, the 2008 Spring Developers Forum will explore solutions to these challenges head on. Program highlights include:

— State-of-the-Art \"green\" and sustainable affordable housing case studies — The City of Los Angeles' new \"Green Building\" ordinance and how it impacts affordable housing development — Leveraging solar energy tax credits with tax-exempt bond financing to develop affordable housing — Statewide housing policy updates from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee & New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority — Analysis of the multifamily debt and equity markets

California business leader Phil Angelides, former California State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate, will deliver the keynote address at the Spring Developers Forum on May 15. He will speak about his partnership with former NBA star Magic Johnson to revitalize communities nationwide by developing mixed-use workforce housing.

The NH&RA 2008 Spring Developers Forum and its sessions are designed for affordable housing professionals at all levels of experience, including for-profit and non-profit developers, syndicators, investors, lenders, attorneys, accountants, property managers, market analysts, appraisers, state and local planning and housing professionals, affordable housing advocates, and community development professionals.

For more than 37 years, the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association has provided an ongoing forum for professionals in affordable housing, historic rehabilitation, community development, and the New Markets Tax Credit program to exchange information and build new business relationships. For more information on the Spring Developers Forum and NH&RA, visit www.housingonline.com, or contact Thom Amdur, 202-939-1753, tamdur@dworbell.com.

SOURCE National Housing & Rehabilitation Association

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