About OCCH

The Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (OCCH) is engaged in several initiatives that complement our syndication activities and provide value-added services to our partners. These include:

Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative: The state of Ohio is receiving a total of $570 million in TARP funds to help address the foreclosure crisis under Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) is administering this massive new foreclosure mitigation effort. OCCH, through an affiliate, the Ohio Homeowner Assistance LLC, will serve as fiscal agent for these dollars that will help an estimated 25,000 Ohio households. We are pleased, excited and honored to partner with OHFA, counseling agencies and others on this very critical program.

Ohio Preservation Compact: Our partnership with the Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio (COHHIO) and OHFA to preserve affordable housing is well underway. Last year, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded the Ohio Preservation Compact a $5 million grant and program related investment. Check out www.OhioPreservationCompact.org to learn more.

Ohio Capital Finance Corporation (OCFC): OCFC, our lending arm, has significant and flexible dollars to lend for predevelopment and acquisition financing. A new preservation loan product is now available through the Ohio Preservation Loan Fund which combines bank investor, MacArthur, OHFA, and OCFC monies for a very low interest rate. Note that OCCH does not need to be the syndicator to access the Ohio Preservation Loan Fund, a key element of the Ohio Preservation Compact. Additionally, the Ohio Affordable Housing Loan Fund, our preexisting loan fund, continues to expand its products and services available in Ohio and Kentucky. OCFC was one of 23 organizations out of 230 to receive a $5 million Capital Magnet Fund Award from the CDFI. This grant will be used to leverage investor equity in affordable housing transactions from 2011 to 2016.

Community Properties of Ohio (CPO): The massive redevelopment effort undertaken by OCCH and our community partners in 2003 consisting of a 250 building, seven neighborhoods, 1,350 unit preservation effort in Columbus is complete. CPO continues to stabilize and maintain the portfolio. Leveraging its expertise in urban, scattered-site management, CPO has begun managing additional portfolios for partners of OCCH. Community Properties Impact Corporation, a 501(c)(3), has been created to help fund CPO initiatives and support the research and development needed to design interventions that further the mission of CPO.

Carol Mount Peterson Resident Development Fund (RDF): 257 grants totaling $4,398,028 have been awarded to nonprofit partners affiliated with a property in which OCCH has an equity investment since the inception of the Fund in 1997. As part of OCCH's mission to help residents reach their social, economic and educational potential, the OCCH board of directors annually approves funding through OCCH retained earnings to support this initiative. In 2010, 37 grants totaling $414,360 were awarded to OCCH nonprofit partners.

OHFA Asset Management Construction Monitoring Contract: Last year, OHFA selected OCCH through a formal RFP process to serve as construction and asset manager on OHFA Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and Tax Credit Exchange (TCE)-only deals. That contract has been executed and we are currently engaged, on OHFA's behalf, on a number of projects under construction.

Asset Management and Portfolio Performance: The Asset Management team constructively engages partners to help them achieve their goals, while maximizing the return to our investors and minimizing the long-term investment risks. With the Ohio Supreme Court ruling on the Woda Ivy Glen Limited Partnership v. Fayette County Board of Revision case in 2009, many developments have been successful in obtaining property tax reassessments. OCCH's portfolio of low-income housing tax credit projects achieved record occupancy levels in 2010 with only a 5.3% vacancy rate.

Energy Conservation Retrofits: Thanks to a generous $920,000 grant from OHFA's Housing Investment Fund, OCCH is administering an energy conservation initiative involving nearly 175 affordable housing projects across Ohio. Through this program, a web-based self-energy audit has already been completed by program participants, and thousands of low-flow shower heads, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other energy efficient items are in the process of being purchased and deployed. Also, a resident training program is being developed in conjunction with the Ohio Consumer Council in an effort to encourage residents to curb consumption. Contact Tony DiBlasi, Chief of Asset Management, at tdiblasi@occh.org to learn more.

HUD Technical Assistance Funds: For over a decade, HUD has awarded OCCH funds to provide technical assistance to Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) and HOME Participating Jurisdictions. Contact Melanie Shapiro at mshapiro@occh.org for more information.

Training Academy: Our course offerings continue to grow at the Training Academy that provides low cost/no cost trainings on a wide range of compliance and property management topics. Many sessions are cosponsored with other organizations such as the Columbus Apartment Association. We had over 900 attendees at various sessions last year, held at the CPO Training Facility in Columbus. Check out our website for the course schedules.

Ohio Housing Conference: Over 1,500 affordable housing professionals attended the 2011 Ohio Housing Conference cosponsored by OHFA and OCCH. The conference theme, "Strength in Numbers – More Jobs, More Growth, More Community Impact," focused on the collaborative efforts of professionals in the affordable housing industry who make a positive impact on Ohio's residents, communities and economy. Visit the conference website to learn more about this annual event.

Hal Keller
President
hkeller@occh.org