The NRP Group isn’t just talking about affordable housing; they’re working with communities to build attractive multi-family homes that fit people’s budgets
By James Buchanan
One of the more critical housing needs, even during a time when people-in-the-know are talking about bursting housing bubbles, is affordable residential housing for low-income families.
There are any number of homebuilders across the country that will build for the right budget. But there likely are only a few that have dedicated the resources and found the means to do so profitably and with a sense of style.
The NRP Group, founded in 1995 by Alan F. Scott, T. Richard Bailey, and J. David Heller, and based in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of those builders. The company has shown the commitment and ability to find mechanisms for funding and building multi-family homes in a number of regions around the country.
A brief search of the Internet will return with a number of examples of the work this company does. And with those examples, one will find the commitment to affordable housing runs deep as co-founder Heller is active in promoting the issue and his business through membership in advisory boards for groups such as Affordable Housing Finance Magazine and the Campaign for Affordable housing.
An example of the company’s capacities in this regard is the Cardinal Pointe multi-family housing unit in Shalotte, NC. According to a press release by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, Cardinal Pointe is one of only a few affordable housing developments in Brunswick County. The development includes 60 townhouse and garden-style apartments with one to three bedroom floor plans.
Further, the units have amenities that are more commonly thought of as belonging to more expensive multi-family developments. They include a playground, walking trails, public garden spots, gazebos, a fitness center, pool, clubhouse and gas grills.
The apartments and townhouses include design features such as walk-in closets, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans, balconies, decks and patios.
Rents range from $375 to $640 per month, depending on the number of bedrooms. Financing for the development was derived from a combination of low-income housing tax credits through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, a loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, and a private bank loan.
Another example that displays the company’s capabilities is the Gateway Park development located in the Jamaica Drive Redevelopment Area in Raleigh, N.C.
According to the Winter/Spring 2005 edition of the City’s Community Development News, the development consists of 84 apartments with nine units for families earning at or below 40 percent of the area median income and 75 affordable units targeted as families earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income.
Funding for the project was developed through a creative mix of tax-exempt bonds, a City of Raleigh HOME loan, deferred developments fees and equity, and tax credit proceeds.
NRP was selected among other companies through a competitive review process to turn the formerly dilapidated section of the city into a more attractive multi-family residential area. The intent behind the city’s development plans, according to a letter to the Raleigh City Council in 2006 from Matt Shoemacher of the NRP Group, is for Gateway Park to be “A cornerstone for future redevelopment in downtown Raleigh, and provide much needed quality housing for lower income families.”
The city’s Community Development Department assessed the applicants on a number of criteria that includes design, financial feasibility, responsiveness to design and land-use guidelines, developer experience, and property management plan.
Once approved, the NRP Group purchased the deteriorating site from the city, secured tax credits from the North Carolina House Finance Agency, and began to work on developing the site in conjunction with design firm Cline Design Associates.
The project was constructed in 2005 and in 2006 was awarded the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance. According to a release on the award, “This project has transformed an underutilized tract of land into safe and attractive affordable housing, In addition to its engaging architecture, it offers special amenities that include a clubhouse with fitness room, business center, large community room with kitchen facilities, and a large open space with playground and community garden plots. Its for residential buildings are grouped together to create an internal street environment that reinforces a sense of place and security.”
Jury comments included, “Excellent site use,” “good pedestrian level articulation,” and “downtown housing that is distinctive, but homey.”
The Company…
The NRP Group describes itself as a full service developer, general contractor, and property manager with the capacity to build, develop, own, manage and partner on single family, multi-family, and senior housing as well as commercial and retail properties.
Further, the company can work in high-density urban sites as well as more rural suburban settings.
The company writes on its website that inherent in its abilities is a wealth of individual experience in, apartment development, affordable housing, land development, design, project management, conceptual estimating budget development and more.
Services NRP provides include site selection, acquisition, feasibility analysis, approvals, permitting, financing, land development, demographics studies, and traffic analysis. The latter of these two, as any community newspaper reporter would attest, are critical to gaining planning board approvals.
The company is based in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in Tucson, AZ, Raleigh, NC, and San Antonio, Texas.
According to NRP’s website, the company also holds NRP Management, which is a division of the NRP Group. NRP Management manages 23 properties totaling more than 2,900 premier affordable, conventional and senior rental housing in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Indiana, New Mexico and Arizona.
The division’s staff includes specialists in corporate compliance, accounting, operations, marketing and leasing support, and onsite community management.
Further, according to the website, NRP Management also provides capabilities in initial lease-ups, on-going operations, market analysis, maintenance and training.
Overall, the NRP Group, since its founding has built more than 3,000 single family and 3,300 multi-family dwellings equaling approximately 40,000 individual units. The company also builds retail and commercial buildings and have done approximately 8 million sq. ft.
Companies NRP has worked with include Kmart, Target, Toys R Us, General Mills Restaurants, Wal-Mart, Pilot Travel Centers, Border’s Books, and Walgreen’s.
On its website the company states, “The demand for attractive, yet affordable housing, commercial and retail buildings are driving their industry. Companies with foresight, market knowledge, quality, and ability to adapt to market changes will succeed.”
The company has been recognized by Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Business as one of the fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005.
In a 2004 press release announcing the winners of the Weatherhead top 100 businesses, Dr. Myron Roomkin, dean of The Weatherhead School of Management, says, “The Weatherhead 100 is a testament that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Northeast, Ohio… Our task is to continue doing all we can to empower residents to take risks and create wealth.”