By Erick Oribio
What is the most important priority for the Hogan Administration in terms of housing and community development?
Our first aim is to support affordable homeownership and rental housing. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has developed programs to assist homebuyers, homeowners, and renters. For homebuyers, we offer mortgages and down payment assistance, which helpfamilies achieve homeownership. We also promote revitalization and redevelopment in Maryland’s communities; so, for homeowners, we provide loans and grants for home repairs and energy efficiency improvements, as well as resources for those at risk of foreclosure.
For renters; an onlineapartment locator, highlighting affordable units and access to monthly rental subsidies programs. Whether it is homeownership or renting, the department wants to help people find, improve and stay in their home. One great example is Project C.O.R.E. (Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise); which was developed by Governor Larry Hogan in response to the civil unrest in Baltimore, clearing the way for new green space, new affordableand mixed-use housing, or new and greater opportunities for small business owners to innovate and grow -whatever fits the unique needs of each neighborhood-. The initiative will generate jobs, strengthen the partnership between the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland and lead to safer, healthier and more attractive spaces for families to live and put down roots.
Tell us about the importance of small businesses in our economy
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development believes that small businesses are the engine that drives our economy. The department offers loans and business growth tools to new and expanding small businesses and nonprofit organizations whose efforts help improve and revitalize existing commercial districts and town centers. Our Neighborhood BusinessWorks loan program is our main business lending program, used by small businesses and lending partners to provide financing options during all phases of business growth; It provides gap financing for new and expanding businesses. The department is seeking to strengthen our partnerships with banks, community development financial institutions (CDFI’s) and mixed-use developers. Even if our assistance is just a piece of the financing, our participation sends a strong message to other lenders that a project is stable and viable;so it often contributes to the project’s success. This program, available in most communities in Maryland, is aggressively trying to grow.
We have to say that the small business outreach was and is a huge part of Project C.O.R.E. Even before the initiative had a name – one month after the civil unrest – we helped coordinate state agencies to offer a series of workshops to assist the 400 small and minority-owned businesses that were damaged. We noticed that most of those businesses, which we helped with rapid access to capital through micro-loans -up to $35,000 with no interest, no collateral required, provided by our department- were serving Hispanic, Korean, Immigrant and African-American communities. The Maryland Business Recovery Loan Program, with over $1.5 million of these micro loans, helped almost 50 businesses immediately begin repairs, restock inventory, and pay their employees. This boosted confidence within the business community, and other lenders.The Small Business Association and community nonprofit organizations offered their own loan resources; business owners who suffered damage were specifically targeted and, at the workshops, applications were sometimes taken on the spot.
DHCD also created the Maryland Business Recovery Storefront Improvement Program to maximize the visual impact, appeal, and marketability of small businesses, enhancing nearly 50 Baltimore businesses. Now it is focusing on full block commercial districts, partnering with significantly more businesses, and it also provides access to workforce development to assist community organizations and stakeholders to revitalize small businesses on a targeted block in their neighborhood, enhancing their historic features and aesthetic appeal.
What does DHCD facilitate or provide to help families achieve the American dream of homeownership?
Our flagship homeownership program is the Maryland Mortgage Program. It works with a statewide network of approved mortgage lending organizations that can help you choose the best loan products for you and your family.It has provided safe, fixed-rate mortgage loans, backed by the State of Maryland for almost 40 years. In the first three fiscal years of Governor Larry Hogan’s term, the program provided $1.5 billion ($1,502,400,000) in mortgages and over $39 million ($39,400,000) in down payment assistance, helping more than 7,800 (7,827) Marylanders become homeowners.
Contact
www.dhcd.maryland.gov
www.mmp.maryland.gov