Private investments make Starter Home Plan a reality
Three private-sector organizations have stepped up to make Washington’s Comprehensive and Scalable Starter Home Production Plan and Playbooks a reality. Contributions from JPMorganChase, Columbia Bank, and the U.S. Bank Foundation - collectively totaling $875,000 - will fund the first stage of implementation of the Starter Home Plan.
No single entity can solve Washington’s housing crisis alone; that’s why public-private collaboration is a foundational aspect of our approach to solving long-entrenched housing production problems. Now that the Starter Home Plan’s comprehensive, actionable roadmap is ready for implementation, Civic Commons welcomes support from private-sector organizations, just as JPMorgan Chase, Columbia Bank, and the U.S. Bank Foundation have done.
“At JPMorganChase, we recognize that public-private partnerships are essential in helping to create safe, accessible, and affordable housing across communities,” said Kerri Schroeder, Pacific Northwest Market Executive. “We’re proud to support Civic Commons’ efforts to help more Washingtonians achieve their homeownership dreams and close the affordable housing supply gap across the state.”
These organizations’ funding infusion makes up 63% of our initial $1.4M fundraising goal. “It is encouraging to see these organizations demonstrate their belief in the Starter Home Plan,” said Marty Kooistra, founding member of the Starter Home Plan project team and Network Weaver at Civic Commons. “We look forward to other early adopters in the private sector stepping up to join them in taking real action on the urgent housing need throughout our state by investing in this game-changing work.”
“Safe and stable housing can help children, families and communities thrive. We’re proud to collaborate with organizations like Civic Commons to help accelerate starter-home production at scale through a community-centric approach,” said Esther Richmond, community affairs manager at U.S. Bank.
“Access to affordable housing is a challenge for many families right now, and strategic partnerships with organizations such as Civic Commons are essential to ensure home ownership is an achievable financial goal for the individuals in the communities we serve,” said Andrew Tweedie, Community Impact Director of Columbia Bank and the Columbia Bank Community Impact Fund. “We are honored to help support Civic Commons’ Starter Home Plan and look forward to the positive impact this program will have on housing needs for community members throughout Washington.”
To build the Starter Home Plan, we convened a multisector project team and collaborator network with expertise and connections throughout the state’s affordable housing system. Precedents for the Starter Home Plan include the 2022 joint report of the Homeownership Disparities Work Group and the Department of Commerce, the landmark work of Black Home Initiative, and the action by the WA State legislature to fund the development of the Starter Home Plan.
“Creating more pathways to homeownership is a top priority as we work to solve our housing shortage,” said Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, the chair of the Senate Housing Committee. “This plan includes concrete and actionable steps to solve the housing supply challenge and get more starter homes on the market. These are homes that will be affordable to renters moving to ownership, people growing their family, older Washingtonians ready to move into a smaller place, and anyone else.”
“Homeownership is a bedrock of neighborhood vitality and a uniquely powerful foundation for financial security across generations. But the supply of for-sale housing affordable to middle-income Washingtonians still falls far short of the need,” said Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, whose 2021 report on Washington State’s Housing Affordability Crisis is one of the foundations of the Starter Home Plan.
“It’s time to be impatient,” he added. “We know where we need to go, and now we have a roadmap. Our state’s private sector, widely known for its innovation and drive, can play a critical role.”
Civic Commons will oversee launch of the Project Management Collaborative and lead initial resource development utilizing their unique “network weaving” approach, which has delivered critical affordable homeownership outcomes through the regional Black Home Initiative partner network.
As with the Starter Home Plan’s development, Civic Commons will engage the full starter-home ecosystem to implement the Starter Home Plan and Playbooks. This includes elected officials, builders, developers, manufacturers, private financier and funders, private philanthropy, and public funding partners such as the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, which finances home loans and downpayment assistance for low- and moderate-income buyers.
The full recommendations and roadmap for implementation are available for download at the Civic Commons site: https://www.civic-commons.org/starterhomeplanwa