NAHRO Announces Award of Excellence Winners 

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) recently awarded 18 prestigious Awards of Excellence to 14 housing and community development organizations for creating innovative programs that improve their communities.   

The 18 award-winning programs were selected by regional juries from a pool of Awards of Merit recipients. The winning programs must improve resident outcomes, resolve problems, and be replicable by organizations of similar size. They must also produce tangible results such as cost savings, enhanced productivity, improved client services, and better service coordination.  

“These awards put a spotlight on the vital work that NAHRO members do nationwide, and show how creativity and collaboration can lead to success,” NAHRO Interim CEO Mike Gerber said. “Congratulations to this year’s winners! You’ve set the bar high.”  
 

Awards of Excellence Honorees 

Administrative Innovation 

• Preserving Affordable Housing in the City of San Diego, San Diego Housing Commission 
• Adams County COVID-19 Rental and Mortgage Assistance Relief Fund, Maiker Housing Partners 
• 2020 Human Resources Accomplishments “2020 Seeing Things in a New Light – Cultural Diversity”, Houston Housing Authority 

Affordable Housing 

• Golden Apartments – A Permanent Supportive Housing Development for Homeless and Chronically Homeless Individuals, The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino 
• Crossing Pointe North, Maiker Housing Partners 
• Valor Pointe, PSH for Homeless Veterans, Idaho Housing and Finance Association 
• The Hub of Opportunity, Housing Connect 

Project Design  

• The Art of Urban Farming at Meacham Urban Farm, Encore Development, Tampa Housing Authority 
• Capehart Playground and Splashpad, Bangor Housing 
• An Innovative Approach to Philly’s Urgent Housing Demand, Philadelphia Housing Authority 
• Corpus Christi Housing Authority Thanksgiving Homes Affordable Housing, Corpus Christi Housing Authority and Affiliates 
• Artisan at Ruiz, San Antonio Housing Authority 
• East Meadows ll, San Antonio Housing Authority 

Resident and Client Services 

• Maintaining and Increasing Resident Services During the Pandemic, The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino 
• Section 3 Promotion and Resident Awareness, Rockford Housing Authority 
• Remote Learning Centers, Philadelphia Housing Authority 
• The Big Blue Bike Barn, Newport Housing Authority 
• Breaking the Digital Divide in the Public Housing Program, Harlingen Housing Authority 

About the Awards  

The NAHRO Awards of Excellence winners who are recognized for outstanding achievement in housing and community development programs in five categories: Administrative Innovation recognizes innovative methods in areas such as maintenance, community relations, and interagency cooperation. Program Innovation — Affordable Housing includes special programs for homeownership, public/private partnerships, and innovative financing. Program Innovation — Community Revitalization includes innovative use of programs in areas such as economic development, neighborhood preservation, and creative financing. Program Innovation — Resident and Client Services includes innovative use of programs such as special activities for children, families, and the elderly, anti-drug programs, social services, and self-sufficiency. Project Design includes efforts such as new housing design, housing modernization, enduring design, and landscape design.  

The NAHRO Agency Awards program was created 20 years ago to recognize agencies who found innovative ways of making a difference in their communities and in the lives of the people they serve by creating affordable housing, revitalizing their neighborhoods, and developing initiatives such as job readiness programs, public-private partnerships, disaster prevention projects, and more. The selected programs were innovative in their approach to creating and utilizing creative systems to implement essential housing and community development programs. These programs can be replicated by other agencies to resolve industry-wide problems.