Preservation of Affordable Housing

Impact Story

Haqikah Greaves, The Amp at Flat 9 Whittier, Boston

When Haqikah Greaves spoke at the ribbon cutting of The Amp at Flat 9 Whittier in Boston earlier this year, the mayor of Boston was so impressed with her story, she said “I hope someone taped this.”

Haqikah was living in Brockton, Massachusetts, a city impacted by financial, social and crime-related challenges, when she found out that she had been selected in the housing lottery for an apartment in POAH’s newly-constructed high-rise building in Lower Roxbury.

“I always wanted to live in Boston because it offers so much not just for me but as a mother, so many resources for children – the Boston Public Library, the Franklin Park Zoo, the Aquarium and so many parks. We use those resources and that makes my daughter feel happy.  I want my daughter to have that experience of support and that's why I chose the Amp. When I got the email that I got in I was so happy - and I saw a future and a dream for my daughter.”

Haqikah also had dreams for herself - majoring in business administration at UMass Lowell where she graduated in the spring of 2026, and working to maximize her education and build a strong financial foundation for herself and her daughter.

That’s where POAH Communities’ Trust Plus program came in to help.

“One day I got an email from management staff and it offered financial help through the Trust Plus program with a financial advisor to help me with any area I would like to work on such as saving for retirement, college fund, or to purchase a home. During the meeting, the advisor would go over financial management and credit building listing my bills and spending on an excel spreadsheet so I could see my whole financial picture clearly.”

“It’s a great resource not just for me but for other mothers and single people as well and I really like that the Amp offers opportunities for everybody regardless of age, background and skill set.”

Living at The Amp has opened up many possibilities for Haqikah. “Based on my college background, I would love to like branch off into different fields in management or international management so I'm very open to different fields and learning – anxious to see where I will head off to next.”

Impact Story

The Handcox Family in Chicago, IL

When Patricia Handcox moved to Mattie Butler Apartments in 2013, she was facing some of life’s toughest challenges. Having just undergone surgery and deemed disabled due to her health condition, Patricia was unable to work and found herself living at her mother’s home with her family - a space they had all outgrown. Moving to Mattie Butler Apartments provided Patricia and her family with exactly what they needed during this difficult period. “To have a stable, safe property where fellow neighbors in the building looked out for one another was a ‘high’ point living here,” Patricia recalls about her experience as a resident. As her health gradually improved, Patricia was able to find employment with the University of Chicago, bringing stability back to their lives.

In 2022 Patricia’s son, Tiron Washington, worked with Mattie Butler’s on-site Community Impact Coordinator (CIC) to advance his own career journey at POAH’s nearby Woodlawn Resource Center (WRC). Since connecting with the WRC, which has helped more than 2000 people secure employment since it opened in 2015, Tiron achieved several significant milestones. He found employment in recreation, earned a degree in Sports Medicine, and continued to advance in that field. But most importantly to him, he saved money to put a down payment on purchasing a home for his mother and family. The Handcox family’s journey from seeking stable housing during a health crisis to achieving homeownership exemplifies the comprehensive support system that POAH’s Community Impact programs provide.

Impact Story

Christina Jacks at Hawthorne Place Apartments in Independence, MO

When Christina Jacks got a divorce, she had two small children, a mortgage on a home she couldn’t afford, and little ability to move forward. She found an apartment for her young family at Hawthorne Place Apartments, POAH’s family housing development in Independence, Missouri where she lived for four years rebuilding her life. When POAH Communities brought the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program to Hawthorne, Christina registered for its employment services, financial coaching, and income support. The FSS program helps build financial assets for families in subsidized housing communities. It does so by capturing increases in earned income for an individual escrow savings account. In less than 2 years, Christina saved nearly $9,000 through FSS. Community Services League, the administrator of the program, helped her land a great job at a Raytown-based company that develops school picture orders. With a new career, her life changed; her FSS savings was used to cover the down payment and closing costs on a new home. She now has a spacious backyard with a swing set less than a quarter mile from the neighborhood school.

Impact Story

Flat 9 Redevelopment

The Flat 9 at Whittier redevelopment is a collaboration between POAH, Madison Park Development Corporation and the Boston Housing Authority to redevelop the Whittier Street Apartments site in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. Originally built in the early 1950s, the Whittier Apartments were home to 200 public housing families. Flat 9 at Whittier is an attractive, sustainable rental, and homeownership development in a neighborhood that is rich in amenities and is home to some of Boston’s anchor educational, civic, and cultural institutions. Residents and community stakeholders were involved in the renaming of the site to Flat 9 at Whittier and in the naming of Tenor Lane. The name Flat 9, a musical chord, and Tenor Lane, speak to the deep jazz roots that once spilled into what is now Tremont Street.

The development creates a livable site with outdoor play spaces, a mix of building types to accommodate diverse family needs, and new streets to re-integrate the site into the broader neighborhood. In December 2016, HUD awarded a $30 million Choice grant to support the housing development and the surrounding neighborhood. POAH’s participation in the Choice Neighborhood Initiative and in Roxbury is not limited to the built environment, but also to the health and resilience of the residents who are the Flat 9 at Whittier community. POAH's property management company has provided COVID-19 support, housing stability, education support, and events and services for residents from the start and Flat 9 at Whittier was a pilot site for POAH’s Designing Trauma Resilient Communities Project.

In 2020, the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) awarded Flat 9 at Whittier the Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the HUD Housing Preservation category recognizing affordable housing developments that have demonstrated especially impactful use of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Phase one of the redevelopment was completed in January 2020 with 92 units offering 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, along with amenities such as a community lounge and a playground. Phase two was completed in December 2021, with 52 units offering 1-,3-and 4-bedroom apartments, along with shared community spaces. Phase three began construction in January 2023.

Once all three phases are completed, the redevelopment will replace 200 public housing apartments with 210 deeply affordable units and create 262 additional units of mixed-income rental housing and 14,000 square feet of commercial space.

Impact Story

Affordable housing preservation with community buy-in

In 2008, at the invitation of concerned residents, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) acquired the former Grove Parc Apartments, a 504-unit Section 8 housing development between Chicago’s 60th and 63rd Streets in Woodlawn that was marked for closure. Where buildings targeted for evictions and foreclosure once stood, new, mixed-income and mixed-use buildings are now lining those streets – drawing visitors, commuters and pedestrians back to this neighborhood. All the former Grove Parc households were guaranteed new homes in Woodlawn, so there was no displacement. The original units were supplemented with market and moderate-income phases to meet a renewed demand for market-rate-for-sale and rental housing.

Ultimately, nearly 1,000 mixed-income units will be created through new construction and the revitalization of vacant multi-unit buildings across the community. As a result, Woodlawn is one of only a few South Side communities in Chicago where housing sales are rebounding, new mixed-use buildings are breaking ground and a national grocer chain is opening a 48,000-square-foot full-service store. Today, Woodlawn is a neighborhood on the rose – where new and renovated mixed-income and market-rate housing, schools, restaurants and retail stores are filling its historic blocks and strengthening the vibrancy of this community. Across the neighborhood, POAH has created more than 600 market and affordable rental opportunities.

Photo credits to POAH.

The information presented is provided by our portfolio partners for general informational purposes only. We have not independently verified for accuracy or completeness. The testimonials presented reflect the personal experiences and opinions of portfolio partners and their investees, and do not guarantee the same results for others.