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Texas Developer Honored for Affordable Housing Achievements
 NAHB and the Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NDC) have named G. Granger MacDonald, a Texas affordable housing developer, as the 2007 recipient of the Robert J. Corletta Award for Achievement in Affordable Housing. The award was presented earlier this month in conjunction with the NAHB Spring Board of Director's Meeting.
"Granger MacDonald has been in the forefront of the affordable housing industry for more than two decades," said NAHB President Brain Catalde. "He has worked tirelessly during that time to ensure affordable housing remains a top priority for housing organizations and our government."
As president of MacDonald Associates in Kerrville, Texas, MacDonald has led the development of thousands of affordable apartment homes for individuals and families earning 60% or less of an area's median income. He has been a strong proponent of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the federal program that is the primary catalyst for affordable housing.
Through his involvement with NAHB and its local and state affiliate organizations in Texas, MacDonald has fought to protect and enhance the LIHTC program, including proposing that enlisted military personnel whose incomes fall within the program's guidelines be eligible for tax-credit apartments. In addition, MacDonald played a leading role in the effort to make affordable housing units available in Texas and Louisiana to hundreds of people whose homes were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
MacDonald has served in many NAHB leadership positions, including chairman of NAHB's Multifamily Housing Credit Group. He is also a member of the NAHB Executive Committee and is a former chairman of the State and Local Government Affairs Committee. He currently serves as chairman of NAHB's Multifamily Board of Trustees, which has as one of its highest priorities modernizing the LIHTC program.
"Like Bob Corletta, Granger MacDonald is devoted to the idea that every American deserves a safe, affordable and desirable home regardless of financial resources," said David P. Cole, executive director of Neighborhood Development Collaborative.
Given jointly by NAHB and NDC, the award is named in honor of Robert J. Corletta, long-time executive director of multifamily operations at NAHB before his death in 1998.
Corletta was recognized by his peers as a visionary in the affordable housing industry, particularly for his efforts supporting congressional passage of the Community Reinvestment Act. Enacted in 1977, the legislation requires banks and other lending institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate and has enabled affordable housing to be created in many low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the country.
In 1978, Corletta co-founded NDC, a non-profit corporation whose mission is to help re-build America's communities through the creation of affordable housing and comprehensive community development.
Presented annually in conjunction with NAHB's Spring Board of Directors Meeting, the Corletta Award pays tribute to individuals who have shown extraordinary creativity and dedication in advocating on behalf of advances in affordable housing.
Past recipients of the award include Ted Schlossman, vice president of Greystone Mortgage; New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine; Stillman D. Knight, former deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.).
For more information, e-mail Ann Marie Moriarty, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8566.
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