The Assignment

FPG has been an integral partner of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program; a top priority of HUD Secretaries since 2012. The program falls primarily under the Office of Recapitalization (Recap), but implementation requires interacting with almost every office in HUD. While our team has worked on a variety of tasks to make RAD a success, we are most proud of our work on the Resource Desk online portal and our ability to complete transactions during busy periods when Recap needs additional staffing capacity.

RAD seeks to address the $26 billion backlog in public housing capital improvements by converting public housing units to the Section 8 platform. This change gives public housing agencies revenue certainty through a long-term Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract and adds the tools of debt and equity financing to support capital improvements. RAD ensures the long-term affordability of these units, many of which are in danger of deterioration and demolition, while remaining budget neutral. In 2018, RAD reached the milestone of 100,000 units converted to Section 8.

Our contributions:

  • Set up and maintain the “Resource Desk” web portal, including executing a 2018 redesign that streamlined the user experience, increased the site’s technical capacity, and created an online RAD application submission process.
  • Train HUD on program requirements and transaction processing
  • Design step-by-step processes for financing plan reviews and transaction closings
  • Identify areas for process improvement and automation
  • Write “desk guide” manuals for staff
  • Serve as the RAD “Help Desk” by answering logistical questions and collaborating with HUD on policy questions
  • Create management metrics and reports
  • Develop forms and documents including many that require OMB approval
  • Conduct quality control reviews
  • Supply extra capacity for transaction processing

RAD Success Story: Boulder, CO

Project Renovate is comprised of 279 units on six non-contiguous properties located in Boulder, Colorado. This RAD tax credit conversion resulted in the substantial rehab of 135 RAD units and 144 tax credit units, with the average cost of rehab per unit exceeding $98k and a total development budget of nearly $90 million. On behalf of the Office of Recap, FPG reviewed the Financing Plan as the Transaction Manager and served as the Closing Coordinator. Three of the properties are shown below:

Diagonal Court: Before and After

Kalmia: Before and After

Northport: Before and After

Photos (including Images 1 and 3 on Home Page) from Boulder Housing Partners