Building Better Lives

BUILDING BETTER LIVES ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020 Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. A JOINT LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD CHAIR On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp., we are pleased to provide you with our Annual Report. This past year was transformational for WHPC as we integrated our business operations into our corporate body. Signifi cant time and investment of resources were committed to evolve WHPC from a third-party managed entity to an independent organization. Succession planning is an important and necessary step to ensure that any company has a well thought out plan and vision for the future. The WHPC Board of Directors and senior management developed and executed our plan. As of October 1, 2020, WHPC now has twenty professionals working with the depth, talent and experience that will allow WHPC to be forward thinking and in control of operations. WHPC continues its mission to preserve, develop and maintain quality, a ordable housing for our most vulnerable populations. In this report, we highlight our communities, and share stories of our organizational change, a day in the life of a property manager, and an innovative approach for integrating workforce housing and special needs residents. We also recognize and thank the many partners we have. 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to make signifi cant changes in the services and activities we provide at our communities. We continue to work with our valued partners to ensure our OUR MISSION residents receive the resources they need to manage through this di cult period. The CARES Act is just one example of a program that provided some needed tenant IS TO PRESERVE, PROVIDE AND PROTECT fi nancial resources for those directly a ected by pandemic. Our fi nancial condition remains strong, a rmed by our S&P rating of AA- and positive AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE LOW AND outlook. We are in a solid position to grow our assets in the future. We optimistically look forward to developing strategies for the future that will complement and expand our mission. MODERATE INCOME CITIZENS IN THE Thank you for your continued interest in WHPC and for all the good work that is being STATE OF WISCONSIN. done to support seniors and families in Wisconsin! Mary R. Wright David W. Kruger President Board Chair BUILDING BETTER LIVES | 1 Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. THE POWER OF PEOPLE DRIVE The successive hires that solidifi ed an impressive leadership team included COO Mike Slavish, former president of Hovde Properties, LLC; CFO Joe Carpenter, WHPC’ FUTURE formally with Oakbrook Corporation, a property management company in Madison; Lee Ferderer, Vice President and General Counsel and former CEO of The Fiore Companies, a privately-held commercial real estate and diversifi ed investment company; and fi nally Rob Dicke, Assistant VP of Asset Management, former Executive Director for the Dane County Housing Authority. A fi nal piece of the puzzle was to bring on board Nancy Barry, a talented project manager who had worked with WHEDA for 30 years in that same capacity. Barry helped internally orchestrate the planning, implementation and management of critical organizational processes during the transition. Tapping the Expertise of Industry Peers When Mary became WHPC’s president she immediately reconnected with long-time industry colleague Bill When Mary Wright became president In 2018, Mary and the board of directors Hinga from Wallick Communities, Inc. of WHPC four years ago she joined an set out to evaluate the organization’s Wallick is a well-respected Ohio based organization that had been successfully existing structure and benchmark it privately held organization with a preserving a ordable housing for against other organizations of similar similar property portfolio. After sharing seniors, families and individuals with size, both not for profi ts and for profi t business experiences, Mary realized special needs for over 15 years. WHPC companies, that owned, managed, and that Wallick could provide tremendous had established a solid foundation with developed a ordable housing. WHPC value to WHPC by giving guidance a strong reputation in the a ordable engaged a recognizable industry expert on industry best practices and by WE HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE housing industry. WHPC began as a to assist in this e ort. When the work assisting with the transition. The two AND WANT TO TAKE THE trust which soon after converted to a was complete, the conclusions were fi rms formed a consulting agreement corporation with a board of directors clear. WHPC was working under an ownership and development industries. strategic endeavor this organization that allowed WHPC to lean on Wallick’s ORGANIZATION TO A LEVEL and a contract president that supervised ine cient and outdated business model. A critical individual attribute Mary looked has ever undertaken.” A long-time industry expertise and its ability to share WHERE IT HASN’T BEEN BEFORE, WHPC’s outsourced corporate services Oversite and control had become more for—those with desire and drive to take industry expert and former colleague, processes, procedures, and guidance on AND CHALLENGE US TO THINK and asset management functions. This di cult and WHPC’s cost structure was on new challenges. David Ginger, was the fi rst hire. Dave developing business protocols. model worked well for a period, allowing higher than its peers. was tapped to be vice president and ABOUT MORE INNOVATIVE WHPC to grow into an organization “It’s the power of people that really made In its consulting role, Wallick provided Based on these results, Mary initiated a human resources manager. He brought APPROACHES FOR HOUSING. that controlled roughly 150 properties this happen, people who understand why direct access to its leadership. WHPC strategic process to re-imagine WHPC’s over 26 years of experience in fi nancing comprised of over 8,300 units with it needed to happen, and who were eager studied Wallick’s organizational structure future as an independent, internally- and developing a ordable properties. a value of more than $500 million. to roll up their sleeves. We needed to and processes and borrowed elements sta ed, full-service, a ordable housing A large part of Dave’s career was with With a fresh perspective, Mary felt it build a team that had a ‘I got your back; that were applicable to WHPC’s new enterprise. Mary immediately realized the Wisconsin Housing and Economic was time to objectively evaluate the you got my back’ kind of trust” she said. business model. In addition, Wallick served the key to success was to fi nd the right Development Authority (WHEDA) where he organization’s business model due to “And that’s hard to do when you haven’t as a sounding board to WHPC’s leadership people to lead the company through the oversaw allocations of tax credits for the the size the organization had grown worked together before.” team as they built out the organization. transformation process. Mary began Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. to and the increased complexity and assembling a leadership team with “My fi rst hire quickly understood the At WHPC, Ginger’s fi rst responsibility “We were starting from almost nothing: competitiveness that the a ordable experience from di erent segments of dynamic of what I was dealing with. The was to lead the hiring process which no policies or procedures, no systems,” housing industry had become. the a ordable housing and real estate hires we made early were pivotal in involved helping evaluate candidates and Nancy Barry said. “It was fun and terms of helping us navigate the biggest participating in interviews. terrifying at the same time, but with 2 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020 BUILDING BETTER LIVES | 3 Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. Wallick’s guidance, we defi ned our player in the communities of tomorrow, “Our mission is about building better OUR CORPORATE business model: how we wanted to we need to think more innovatively to lives by preserving housing and also be structured, the processes, policies, be in a position to help them with their giving people opportunities to improve procedures, systems in place for each housing strategies.” their lives with better outcomes,” Mary of the functional areas that needed to said. “Establishing programs with GOALS AND OBJECTIVES be up and running in a year.” management companies that result Meeting the Needs of Residents in real opportunities for residents to WHPC is going to place a new emphasis improve their position in life would What the Future Holds on how it can better connect its be a real success story and a positive THE BOARD AND MANAGEMENT Preserve and Maintain High Asset Attract New Sources of Capital Mary is excited about the opportunities residents to social services that are outcome for society.” HAVE A MULTI-YEAR PLAN TO Quality of Our Portfolio that await WHPC. Studies strongly available in the communities where The demand for a ordable housing demonstrate that stable housing residents live. WHPC has added a social ACCOMPLISH OUR STRATEGIES, We take a long-term view of maintaining continues to grow. Wage stagnation, and Future Growth and improving the housing stock we higher costs for childcare, healthcare, provides safety and stability in people’s services professional to assess needs, GOALS AND MISSION. SIX AREAS OF lives. Maintaining and developing explore opportunities, and develop The cost savings that WHPC will realize own. We continuously evaluate each and education put signifi cant pressure STRATEGIC FOCUS ARE IMPORTANT quality a ordable housing has become programs to meet this important need. from its restructuring will be reinvested asset to ensure we have healthy on families with lower incomes.

Load more