A centerpiece of the National Center for Housing Management’s Registered Housing Manager (RHM) program is the property assessment prepared by candidates for the RHM designation. Candidates collect and analyze key performance data on their properties, identify any weaknesses, and propose a plan of action to address the issues. The vast majority of the assessments are conducted on affordable housing properties, with many of those involving housing for seniors and people with disabilities. As a member of the National Certification Review Board I have the distinct pleasure of reviewing each submission. I greatly enjoy the task as it gives me a glimpse into properties all across the United States and Puerto Rico in a way few get to experience.
Central Annex Apartments in Pittsfield, MA
Recently, I was reviewing an assessment prepared by Ann Vachula of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her assessment of Central Annex Apartments included a brief history of the building, which was built in 1896 at a cost of $200,000 and served as Pittsfield’s high school for many years. In 1980 the old high school building was converted into housing for seniors and persons with disabilities and in 2015 it was reborn again through the use of low-income housing tax credits.
Now this is a story that has been repeated many times across the country – old buildings, from schools to warehouses to hospitals, turned into affordable housing. But what struck me about Ann’s submission was a black and white photo she included of what appear to be students posing in front of the old high school from back in the day. (I wish we could reprint the photo here but the resolution was insufficient to do so). The picture caused me to think, not just about the many buildings our industry has converted over the years, but the hundreds of thousands of people who were born, educated, worked and, yes, died in those buildings in their previous lives. It reminded me of an old Catholic high school building in Milwaukee that my previous company had converted to a Section 8 senior housing community long after it had ceased being a place of education. One day during a visit to the property I was introduced by the property manager to two residents who had been students in the building some fifty years earlier, one of whom went on to become a nun and taught at the school!
There are thousands of stories like this across America. Stories that don’t get told often enough.
We read about buildings being converted; about this or that architectural award; about financing provided by this or that lender; and so on. We don’t read enough about the people inside the buildings – past and present.
So I invite you to share your stories in the comments section. Perhaps it will spur further efforts to capture and pass along more of the history that links our industry to the past. And, in case you’re wondering, Ann received a passing grade on her property assessment and is now a Registered Housing Manager. Congratulations, Ann.