Community Development and Revitalization Services

Some of UPD’s consultants came out of the housing and community development field, and we continue to offer consulting services in this arena. Whether you’re a city housing agency struggling to implement reform or a developer seeking to translate a plan into action, UPD can help.

Local Development Coordination

Urban areas are once again emerging as the "hot" development locations in America. With more and more businesses deciding to locate in inner cities, and with the "graying" of America as "baby boomers" become "empty nesters" and seek smaller homes more accessible to rich cultural and entertainment activities, the relatively inexpensive vacant property in many cities have attracted many new entrants into the housing and community development arena. But even the largest, most experienced developers know that just because a prospective deal makes economic sense doesn’t mean that it will be embraced by local government.

UPD staff has extensive experience in housing and community development and has worked with many challenged cities to establish development strategies and priorities. Because UPD is already actively engaged with the decision-makers in many localities around the country, developers who are new to an area can leverage our contacts and knowledge base and shave months of the lead time necessary to get their projects going. We can help you:

• Shape (or reshape) your development proposal to better adhere to and reflect local development and revitalization goals.
• Steer your project through the often Byzantine bureaucratic processes including community input, acquisition of publicly-owned properties, local planning and zoning approvals, public subsidies (loans and grants), local involvement in financing (such as Tax Increment Financing), and permitting.
• Identify and manage local sub-contractors.

Loan Portfolio Management

Most public sector community development lenders put a lot of time and effort into establishing loan funds and getting loan dollars flowing to borrowers. Unfortunately, far less attention is paid to managing those assets once they're booked. UPD can assist loan fund administrators in setting up the tracking, reporting and evaluation systems that will minimize losses and maximize the value of the loan portfolio. Strong portfolio management practices facilitate secondary market transactions, they put the organization in a much better competitive position to acquire foundation and government grant dollars, and reduce overall operating costs. If you're not satisfied with the performance of your loan program, it could have more to do with your portfolio management than with your pricing, your "red tape" or your marketing. Let us help you adopt private sector portfolio management practices.

Secondary Market Transactions for Development Loans

With the reduction in federal dollars for community and economic development lending over the last decade, many development lenders around the country are being squeezed. Most localities cannot backfill the gap. And thus far foundations have been unable or unwilling to make up the difference. Some development lenders have stopped making new loans. Still others have closed up shop entirely. There is a private market solution to this dire picture. Selling or borrowing against existing loan portfolios is proving to be a practical answer to the funding needs of development lenders. Banks, financial service companies, retirement funds and insurance companies have begun to demonstrate a vast appetite for secondary market development deals.

There are several financial advisory firms handling these types of secondary market transactions, but UPD specializes in the area of community and economic development lending, so our services are tailored to the specific needs of non-profit and public sector lenders. We also provide management consulting services to help our clients develop short- and long-term strategies for preparing loan funds for the secondary market, and for using transaction proceeds to achieve development and financial goals.