HR A Advisors Response File (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) — Santa Clarita City Council, July 14, 2026

City of Santa Clarita Affordable Housing Consultant
RFP #CD-25-26-36 | May 14, 2026
Paul J. Silvern, Partner-in-Charge
[email protected], (310-751-3464)

Photo by Jeff Turner on Unsplash

On behalf of HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A), we are pleased to submit this proposal for technical support to the City of Santa Clarita’s (the “City”) Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) program. HR&A is a leading real estate, economic development, and public policy consultancy with 50 years of experience. We are uniquely positioned for this engagement. Our housing practice works across scales from the adoption of strategic plans through program design to funding and closing deals and we have applied the full range of our abilities in Southern California.

HR&A led the development of LACAHSA’s Expenditure Plan, the foundational document that allocates over $380 million annually across Eligible Jurisdictions and shaped many of the financing tools Santa Clarita will now deploy.

We are also supporting LACAHSA’s Regional Coordination Plan to strengthen the ways in which Eligible Jurisdictions can work together as they design and administer their own housing and homelessness prevention programs. Finally, we are supporting underwriting for LACAHSA’s first Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to guide the Agency’s initial round of investments. This work gives us direct familiarity with the City’s context, its MOU obligations, and the practical realities of translating LACAHSA guidelines into local program design.

In addition to our fluency with LACAHSA, we bring three capacities that are directly relevant to the scope:
• We inform affordable housing strategies with best-in-class data capabilities. HR&A’s data analytics platform, Housing Weaver, can automatically generate real-time housing needs assessments on a submarket level to complement prior studies and inform strategy and program design. • We create effective and efficient developer funding programs. We have designed and implemented public-sector funding programs for affordable housing development across the country, including Westchester County’s $100 million Housing Flex Fund. Our approach is rooted in a deep understanding of local market dynamics, affordable housing finance, and a practical understanding of implementing new programs.
• We understand implementation realities and build our clients’ capacity. We regularly work side-by- side with our public sector clients to implement their programs, update their policies and procedures, and build their staff’s compliance and technical skillsets.

We look forward to the opportunity to partner with the City on this comprehensive approach to the City’s use of LACAHSA funds. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Paul Silvern
Partner, HR&A Advisors Inc.
(310) 751-3464 | [email protected]
99 Hudson Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10013

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4 7
8 10
11 Table of Contents
Relevant Project Experience
Client References
Scope of Work
Project Schedule
Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities

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Relevant Project Experience

The following three engagements represent a sample of HR&A’s most relevant recent experience: designing and operating LACAHSA’s program architecture, building developer grant programs for public sector clients, and providing on-call underwriting and implementation support to public sector clients as a trusted long-term partner.

Client: Los Angeles County
Affordable Housing Solutions
Agency (LACAHSA)
Location: Los Angeles County, CA
Completion: 2025 - Ongoing

LACAHSA Organizational Strategy, Expenditure Plan &
Regional Coordination Plan
In 2024, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure A, a historic half-cent sales tax generating over $380 million annually for affordable housing and homelessness prevention. HR&A developed the inaugural Expenditure Plan and Regional Coordination Plan for the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA), creating frameworks that enable 13 regional agencies to deploy this permanent funding source while maintaining regional alignment toward the goal of producing 9,000 new affordable homes over the next five years.

Following voter approval of Measure A, Los Angeles County established LACAHSA to administer funds at regional scale. Although LACAHSA directly administers 30 percent of funding, roughly 70 percent is distributed to 13 separate regional agencies. The core challenge was ensuring all agencies complied with Measure A requirements while maintaining flexibility to respond to hyperlocal housing needs, market conditions, and community priorities. HR&A's Expenditure Plan designed an "all tools in the toolbox" approach, creating a suite of financial tools and programs empowering each agency to deploy funds according to local priorities while maintaining regional alignment.

HR&A also developed a methodology to allocate funding across agencies and established program requirements.

With funding from SCAG, HR&A has continued assisting LACAHSA by convening the 13 agencies to develop a Regional Coordination Strategy that strengthens communication, establishes shared expectations, and ensures consistent implementation. Together, the Expenditure Plan and Coordination Strategy serve as the foundation for LACAHSA's progress toward ambitious five-year affordable housing goals, demonstrating how permanent funding sources can transform regional capacity to address homelessness and housing affordability when supported by strong frameworks for interjurisdictional coordination.

Finally, HR&A is supporting underwriting for LACAHSA’s first Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to guide the Agency’s initial round of investments. The underwriting scope involves scoring applicants across a range of criteria including public policy goals, readiness to

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proceed, and financial sustainability. HR&A corresponds and coordinates with applicants, senior LACAHSA staff, and prepares detailed scorecards and underwriting memos that support the awarding of funds by LACAHSA’s Board of Directors.

This work with LACAHSA gives us direct familiarity with the City’s context, its MOU obligations, and the practical realities of translating LACAHSA guidelines into local program design. In addition, HR&A has been contracted to provide technical assistance to two Los Angeles County subregions, Los Angeles Housing Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, as an outgrowth of this work.

Client: Westchester County
Department of Planning
Location: Westchester County, NY
Completion: 2022 - 2025

Westchester County Affordable Housing Improvement
Plan & Housing Flex Fund
HR&A Advisors designed and launched the Housing Flex Fund, funded with a $100 million grant allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, that dramatically increased the County’s investments in affordable housing developments and rehabilitations over a two-year period, prioritizing projects that matched the County’s public policy priorities and demonstrated shovel-readiness. The engagement spanned strategy development, program design, and full
implementation, including underwriting 15 loans supporting over 1,500 affordable homes.

HR&A first conducted a comprehensive existing conditions analysis, including a housing gap analysis, program ecosystem scan, and financial feasibility assessment of multiple housing typologies, to develop a set of recommended funding strategies aligned with the County’s goals and market realities.

HR&A then designed the Housing Flex Fund, including defining program goals and eligibility criteria, drafting application materials, evaluation rubrics, and selection processes, and working collaboratively with County staff throughout. Finally, HR&A supported the deployment of the fund, screening 31 applications, conducting full underwriting on competitive projects, and recommending funding awards to senior County leadership.

This experience demonstrates our ability to align a funding strategy with public policy goals and market realities, design a funding program that responds to market needs and generates developer interest, and support the implementation of the program all the way through NOFA design and project approvals.

Fairfax County Underwriting & Transaction Support

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Client: Fairfax County Department of
Housing and Community
Development
Location: Fairfax County, VA
Completion: Ongoing
As part of a real estate advisory on-call contract, HR&A Advisors supports the Department of Housing and Development for Fairfax County, VA (HCD) across diverse workstreams.

In 2025 and 2026, HR&A completed a Housing Needs Assessment for Fairfax County that summarized trends and affordability gaps in the rental and owner-occupied markets and quantified its future housing needs.

In 2025, HR&A drafted updated underwriting guidelines for three HCD affordable rental housing funding programs: gap/soft-debt financing, conduit tax-exempt bond issuances, and FHA risk-share senior loans.

The guidelines provide quantitative and qualitative guidelines for underwriting HCD’s project investments in a manner that facilitates the production and preservation of high-quality affordable rental homes while ensuring that the projects are sustainable and HCD’s financial risk remains within the risk profile for the different programs.

In 2025, Fairfax County engaged HR&A to analyze how modifying the County's standard approach to providing gap subsidy could enable today’s deals to more significantly reduce their debt burden over time and to deliver additional public benefit over the long term. HR&A modeled four different financing scenarios and performed various tests to determine whether increasing the County's gap subsidy per unit could (1) pay back gap subsidy earlier and recycle capital for future projects, (2) provide excess cash at refinance for property capital expenditures, (3) allow deeper affordability (30%-50% AMI units) in years 16+, (4) lower a project's cost of capital by accelerating the gap subsidy pay-in schedule, and (5) provide leverage for negotiating increased ownership and control of projects, among other opportunities. HR&A presented its findings to County leadership and facilitated discussion about the benefits and risks.

Finally, HR&A provides ongoing underwriting and transaction support for RFPs involving county land and funding. As part of HCD’s public solicitation process, HR&A Advisors evaluates and scores responses to RFPs to redevelop existing County-owned sites into affordable housing.

Our analysis helps HCD understand the financial risks of each proposal and the degree to which each would support deeper levels of affordability. Additionally, HR&A Advisors conducts financial due diligence for development proposals requesting the HCD’s Blueprint Funds and, when requested, negotiates funding terms with development partners on the County’s behalf, if requested.

This experience demonstrates HR&A’s ability to serve as a long-term trusted partner to a public agency and support its work across a diverse set of workstreams ranging from data-driven housing needs assessments to program design, technical assistance, and project-level underwriting.

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Client References
The following references are provided on the City’s References form included in the submission package.

Reference 01

Contact Information
[email protected]
(213) 523-6468
Dates of Work
2025 - Ongoing

Tommy Newman | Chief of Staff, LACAHSA
HR&A partnered with LACAHSA to develop a comprehensive
Expenditure Plan and Agency Strategy, designing an “all tools in the toolbox” approach to create flexible programmatic frameworks. HR&A supported LACAHSA’s Regional Coordination Plan and continues to support LACAHSA with underwriting for its first NOFA.

Reference 02

Contact Information
[email protected]
(914) 995-2409
Dates of Work
2022–2025
Leonard Gruenfeld | Program Administrator, Westchester
County Department of Planning
On behalf of Westchester County’s Department of Planning, HR&A developed and implemented the County’s Affordable Housing Improvement Plan and a new $100 million Housing Flex Fund, funded through an allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The engagement spanned strategy development, program design, and full implementation, including underwriting and closing 15 loans supporting over 1,500 affordable homes.

Reference 03

Contact Information
[email protected]
(703) 324-7329
Dates of Work
Ongoing
Callahan Seltzer | Director, Real Estate & Community
Development Finance, Fairfax County Housing & Community Development
HR&A Advisors supports the Department of Housing and Development for Fairfax County, VA (HCD) across a wide range of workstreams from housing needs assessments to program design, technical assistance, and project-level underwriting.

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Scope of Work
Between 2021 and 2029, the City of Santa Clarita (the “City”) must work towards building 10,031 homes, including 5,131 affordable to lower-income households. HR&A understands that the City requires a consultant who can design a complete LACAHSA funding program responsive to residents’ housing needs and consistent with the City’s ongoing efforts. The elements of this scope are interdependent and will be developed in an iterative, collaborative process with City staff.

Compliance with LACAHSA MOU
All work performed under this scope will comply with the terms of the City’s executed MOU with LACAHSA, which HR&A helped inform. HR&A will ensure that program design elements and implementation activities are consistent with LACAHSA’s requirements, eligible use definitions, affordability requirements, and other standards.

We will seek clarifications from LACAHSA and provide written guidance where requirements are unclear.

Task 0. Project Initiation
HR&A will convene a kick-off meeting with City staff to confirm goals, establish data sharing agreements, and stakeholder engagement protocols.

Task 1. Affordable Housing Strategy Development
HR&A will analyze the City’s housing needs, development constraints, and available funding tools to produce a strategic framework that guides the City’s future LACAHSA funding investments.

Task 1.1 Existing Conditions Research & Analysis
• Review the City’s certified 6th Cycle Housing Element and RHNA obligations (10,031 units), identifying the income-level gaps most likely to be addressed through the City’s LACAHSA funding. • Review the City’s housing programs and interview City staff to understand their overall approach to funding affordable housing, major challenges, and how the City’s LACAHSA funding fits into their thinking. • Review recent affordable housing deliveries in Santa Clarita and the broader market, including projects in the City’s funding pipeline, to assess baseline production capacity and identify gaps. • Leverage our developer contacts from prior work in the region to obtain feedback on development constraints, prior program experience, and interest in City-sponsored grant programs, either with a virtual roundtable or one-on-one outreach.
• Analyze local affordability gaps and market conditions using HR&A’s Housing Weaver platform. Leverage our prior work in the region to update prototypical pro formas and estimate expected funding gaps based on client and developer feedback.

Deliverable: Presentation of Preliminary Findings including overview of findings and opportunities Task 1.2 Housing Strategy Development
• Synthesize findings into strategic recommendations for deploying the City’s LACAHSA funding and other available resources, including income targeting, product type prioritization, and program alignment.1 Deliverables:
• Preliminary Affordable Housing Strategy Presentation

1 Note: HR&A assumes “other available resources” to cover the City’s existing funding sources – Housing Successor Cash, developer fees for affordable housing and HUD HOME entitlement funds.

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• Final Affordable Housing Strategy Document for utilizing LACAHSA funding and other available tools

Task 2. Developer Grant Program Design
Building off of Task 1.1 and in parallel with Task 1.2, HR&A will design a Developer Grant Program funded by the City’s LACAHSA PPO allocation ($2,121,026 for FY 2025–26) that is administratively feasible, LACAHSA-compliant, and calibrated to Santa Clarita’s market conditions.

Task 2.1 Feasibility and Program Considerations Analysis • Meet with City staff to discuss implementation considerations for a Developer Grant Program supported by LACAHSA PPO funds.
• Clarify any questions regarding LACAHSA program requirements with LACAHSA staff Deliverable: Feasibility and Program Considerations Memo Task 2.2 Program Design
• Establish program architecture, defining eligible project types, income targeting, maximum funding amounts, and funding priorities calibrated to Santa Clarita's market conditions and LACAHSA PPO affordability requirements.
• Draft application materials, developing program guidelines, eligibility criteria, developer capacity standards, application forms, and scoring rubrics that reflect both housing need and development feasibility.
• Design the selection process, documenting the review, award, and appeals procedures, including coordination with LACAHSA on board approval requirements. • Build the administrative framework, drafting operational procedures, reporting requirements, and compliance documentation standards that enable City staff to run the program independently after contract close.
• Refine and finalize, presenting draft program materials to City staff for review and incorporating direction prior to issuing final documents.

Deliverables:
• Preliminary Program Guideline Presentation
• Final Program Guidelines and Implementation Plan
FINAL DELIVERABLE: City Council Presentation
Task 3. Technical Assistance
Throughout the contract term, HR&A will serve as the City’s primary resource for LACAHSA program interpretation and compliance. Specific support will include:
• Interpretation of LACAHSA program requirements and guidelines, including eligible uses, affordability restrictions, documentation standards, reporting obligations, and the funding obligation and expenditure timeline (TA funds must be expended within 12 months of obligation) • Guidance on City responsibilities under the MOU, including annual budget requirements, expenditure plan alignment, and coordination with LACAHSA on funding requests • Assistance coordinating with LACAHSA staff as needed, drawing on HR&A’s active working relationships with LACAHSA program and compliance staff
• Being virtually available during the Council presentation for questions and, if desired, assisting with the presentation to City Council.

Division of Work
HR&A will perform all analytical, program design, and document production work. We assume City staff will provide direction at key milestones, review and approve deliverables, manage City Council coordination, and lead the Council presentation. HR&A will assist City staff in that presentation.

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Project Schedule
HR&A proposes to complete all deliverables within the City’s projected contract term (anticipated June 2026 execution through February 2027 fund expiration), with the Affordable Housing Strategy and Developer Grant Program Guidelines finalized by December 31, 2026 and the City Council Presentation prepared in January 2027.

The schedule below tracks against the City’s example timeline and reflects HR&A’s proposed additions — including the developer roundtable and feasibility memo — that will strengthen the analytical foundation for program design.

HR&A will hold bi-weekly check-in calls with City staff during active project phases to ensure the project remains aligned with the scope and schedule and that deliverables reflect City direction before finalization. Meetings will include Community Preservation Staff, the Management Analyst, and as needed the Planning Division and Community Development Director.

Month Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
Task 0 Project Initiation
Task 1.1 Existing Conditions Research & Analysis *
Task 1.2 Housing Strategy Development * *
Task 2.1 Feasibility and Program Considerations Analysis * Task 2.2 Program Design * *
Final Deliverable: City Council Presentation * Task 3 LACAHSA Implementation & Technical Assistance

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Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities
HR&A will staff this engagement with the team that designed LACAHSA’s program architecture and has the deepest current knowledge of program requirements. All staff are HR&A employees; no sub-consultants are proposed for this engagement. Staff costs are included in the cost file.

Consultant Team
Name Title / Role Project Role Responsibilities
Paul Silvern Partner Partner-in-Charge Overall quality, client relationship, strategic
direction
Phillip Kash Partner Senior Advisor Strategic direction of strategy and program design
Peter Brewton Principal Project Manager Day-to-day delivery, City coordination, deliverable
production
Arjun Gupta Sarma Principal Housing Needs
Assessment Lead
Lead analysis of housing
needs through review of
existing documents and
supplemental analysis with
Housing Weaver
Additionally, the team will draw from its expansive bench of analytical staff of 158 across HR&A’s offices

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Pronouns: He/Him/His
Paul Silvern | Partner
Paul has been with HR&A since 1986, a Partner since 1993, and served as the Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Los Angeles office from 2007 to 2020. Paul specializes in real estate advisory, economic impact, housing affordability, fiscal impact, financial feasibility, and a wide range of public analysis services for private, public, institutional, and non-profit clients. This has involved him in television and film studio expansions, hotel developments, high- technology office parks, high-rise office buildings, shopping centers, hospital complexes, university campus expansions, large residential developments, professional sports stadia, mixed-use developments, and a variety of planning initiatives. His housing experience ranges from directing the preparation of affordable housing plans and strategies, to drafting and evaluating public development regulations, to financial analysis for private developers and transaction underwriting for public lenders.

Education
University of California Los Angeles,
Graduate School of Architecture and
Urban Planning, Master of Arts,
Architecture and Urban Planning,
1979
University of Illinois Urbana, Bachelor
of Science (with Honors), Architectural
Studies, 1974

South Bay Cities COG Affordable Housing On-Call
Advised the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) on the deployment of its Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) Measure A allocation across 16 South Bay member cities. HR&A underwrote SBCCOG's first development under the new program and developed a threshold and scoring underwriting framework, application review process, and template credit memos and award letters to standardize future board decisions. HR&A also provided ongoing advisory support on affordable housing development structuring and how SBCCOG's investments fit within the broader regional financing ecosystem to maximize leverage of LACAHSA, state, and federal sources.

Long Beach Middle Income Housing Negotiation & Policy Development Supported the City of Long Beach in their evaluation of middle income housing bond financing opportunities. At the city’s request, HR&A worked with a local developer to structure a public benefits agreement to add more than 500 units of affordable housing to the redevelopment of the old city hall complex in downtown Long Beach. The financing structure allowed a long stalled deal to move forward with minimal fiscal impact to the City of Long Beach. The new development will provide not only housing for essential workers but also a new grocery store in a long under-served area of the city. HR&A's work increased the number of and depth of affordable units. HR&A then assisted city staff to develop a policy supporting similar future middle-income housing transactions.

Southern California Association of Government's Subregional Planning Process
Directed a consulting team that assisted the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica and West Hollywood to participate effectively in the Southern California Association of Government's sub-regional planning process and prepared special studies, including an analysis of what the cities Work Experience
HR&A Advisors, Inc., 1986 – Present
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Adjunct, Faculty Associate, 1992
City of Santa Monica, California, Policy
Development Manager and Director
of Planning, 1983 – 1985
Skid Row Development Corporation,
Economic Development Specialist,
1979 – 1983
Urban Innovations Group, Project
Manager, 1978 – 1979
University of California Los Angeles,
Graduate School of Architecture and
Urban Planning, Teaching Assistant
and Research Assistant, 1976 – 1978
Pacific Missile Test Center, Pt. Mugu,
CA, Public Works Engineering
Department, Architect, Plans and
Programs Branch, 1975 – 1976

Affiliations

HR&A Advisors, Inc. | RFP #CD-25-26-36 | 13
LA County 3rd District Consolidated
Redevelopment Successor Agencies,
Oversight Board, Chair & Vice Chair,
2018 – Present
Santa Monica Redevelopment
Successor Agency Oversight Board,
Chair, 2012 – 2017
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District Financial Oversight
Committee, Member, Former Chair,
2003 – 2017
Southern California Association of
Governments, Forecast Technical
Task Force, Vice Chair, 2002 – 2005
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District, Ad-Hoc Committee on District
Facilities, 1997 – 1998, 2009 – 2010
Santa Monica College General
Advisory Board, Member, 1997 – 1998
City of West Hollywood, Ad-Hoc Task
Force on City Organization and
Management, 1986 – 1987
Southern California Association of
Governments, Planning Director’s
Committee, 1983 – 1985
Inner City Law Center, Board of
Directors, 1982 – 1985
Santa Monica Pier Restoration and
Development Task Force, 1982 – 1983
Santa Monica Architectural Review
Board, 1981 – 1983
The American Real Estate & Urban
Economics Association, 2008 –
Present
International Economic Development
Council, 1982 – Present
The Urban Land Institute, 1982 –
Present
American Planning Association, 1979
– Present
American Institute of Architects
(Professional Affiliate), 1976 – Present
could do to promote more mixed-use development, and a model affordable housing strategy.

Population, Employment, Housing and Urban Decay Analysis for Major Development in Santa Clarita Valley
For Newhall Land and Farming Company, analyzed a major mixed-use development in Northern Los Angeles County, conducting a review of population, housing, and employment impacts as well as an “urban decay” analysis for the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process.

Analysis to Support Santa Monica’s Affordable Housing Production Program
Directed detailed analyses of the financial feasibility of developing new market rate apartment and condominium developments, and subsidized apartment projects affordable to lower-income households, in support of recommendations to substantially revise the City of Santa Monica’s “inclusionary” housing program. Directed preparation of a precedent-setting “nexus” study to support the imposition of an affordable housing fee as one component of the city’s new program. Also directed two subsequent analysis updates to account for changed market circumstances, and prepared annual fee adjustments by formula in following years.

Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Development and Preservation Support
Supported the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office in the creation of a comprehensive strategy to acquire land and buildings for the development and/or preservation of affordable housing in the County. Advised CEO staff on the strategic deployment of $21 million in Affordable Housing Acquisition funds to address the County’s ongoing housing affordability crisis. Worked with the CEO staff to determine a set of priority criteria for parcel selection, including unit cost, displacement risk, transit adjacency, and density to value ratio. Developed a countywide database of older existing buildings, including those with expiring affordability covenants, and a site prioritization framework for acquisition by the County to preserve existing naturally occurring affordable housing. Later, provided a systematic market scan of the existing inventory of mobile home parks and naturally occurring affordable housing buildings and developed a prioritized shortlist that could be candidates for immediate acquisition.

Implementation of Affordable Housing Loan Program for LA County For the Los Angeles County Development Authority, and since 1999, directed analysis related to various aspects of an annual affordable housing development loan program NOFA, including scoring of competitive proposals, due diligence review, extensive consultations with applicants and County staff to finalize deal structures, drafting complex loan documents, and negotiation of loan documents with borrowers, their professional consultants and financial partners, County staff and the County’s outside real estate counsel.

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Pronouns: He/Him/His
Phillip Kash | Partner
Phillip Kash leads engagements on affordable housing,
strategic planning and resilient disaster recovery. He has two decades of experience designing and implementing housing programs and policies. He has led the development and adoption of housing plans in more than twenty cities, counties and states across the country, from large cities such as Dallas, TX and Detroit, MI, to smaller cities such as Charlottesville, VA and Stamford, CT, and including states such as Maine. He has led the formation of mission driven housing funds and underwritten over $2B in public and mission driven capital to create and preserve affordable homes, and co-led the development of HousingWeaver, a proprietary housing analytics platform that allows users to understand their housing market in real time, measure the impact of their investments on housing, and evaluate the impact of housing policies.

Education
University of North Carolina At Chapel
Hill, Master of City and Regional
Planning, 2008
University of North Carolina At Chapel
Hill, Bachelor of Arts, Economics,
2005

LACAHSA Organizational Strategy & Expenditure Plan
HR&A partnered with the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) to develop a comprehensive Expenditure Plan and Agency Strategy, a major milestone in Los Angeles’ effort to combat its affordable housing and homelessness crisis. The Plan allocates funding to fourteen local jurisdictions and establishes a suite of innovative financing tools to advance diverse local programs. Collectively, the Plan positions LACAHSA to deploy over $380 million annually across housing production, preservation, and renter protection programs.

Westchester County Affordable Housing Improvement Plan & Housing Flex Fund
On behalf of Westchester County’s Department of Planning, developed and implemented a new fund, based on a $100M grant allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, to guide the County’s investments in affordable housing developments and rehabilitations over a two-year period, prioritizing projects that matched the County’s public policy priorities and demonstrated shovel-readiness. Working in close consultation with County staff, HR&A designed application and competitive scoring processes, which aimed to leverage funding to achieve the County’s public policy goals of greater housing production and deeper affordability. HR&A screened 31 applications and underwrote over $90M of funding supporting the development and preservation of over 1,200 affordable homes.

Wake County AHDP Underwriting 2022
Supported Wake County in implementing its Affordable Housing Development Program (AHDP), which provides gap financing loans to affordable housing projects. Following HR&A’s previous assistance to the County in developing the AHDP underwriting guidelines, selection criteria and review process, evaluated six applications in the 2022 funding round.

The initial review resulted in preliminary scores and a presentation to the Scoring Committee comprised of county and local government representatives. HR&A then interviewed the six developers and negotiated

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best and final offers based on a detailed review of development budgets and cash flow projections, resulting in the submission of funding recommendations to the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

California Dream For All Program Design
Assisted in the design of a statewide shared appreciation revolving loan fund in California that would provide up to 17% down payment for lower income borrowers. Analyzed housing and homeownership trends across 10 regions in the state. Set potential lending parameters to ensure that the ultimate product would help borrowers who have traditionally been excluded from homeownership. Created a financial model of the potential program to test the impact of changes in home prices, distribution of loans across the state and repayment rates. Then the team adjusted the results based on feedback from local, regional, and state-level stakeholders. This process built support for the program and tested local viability of the new lending product. Finally, supported our client, the State Treasurer’s Office, as they presented the concept across the state to advocate for initial funding for the program. The final report laid out all the potential risks and options for various design decisions to provide a roadmap to future policy makers and program administrators. The California State Assembly provided an initial $500 million in funding to move the concept forward.

Amazon Housing Equity Fund
Supported program design and implementation for Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion commitment to preserve and create 20,000 affordable homes through below-market loans and grants to housing partners, public agencies, and minority-led organizations. Created an affordable housing finance summary of potential investment strategies, conducted a landscape analysis of peer investments in housing, worked with Amazon to refine investment goals and priorities, and developed a clear and concise financial framework to evaluate potential investment options.

Conducted an initial market scan in target geographies, assessed the housing need in those geographies to evaluate programmatic components, and conducted high-level financial analysis to test investment portfolio scenarios. Worked closely with Amazon to launch the Housing Equity Fund in January 2021 and continuing to support Amazon in implementation of the program, including underwriting and transaction closing support.

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Pronouns: He/Him/His
Peter Brewton | Principal
Peter brings over ten years of diverse community development and affordable housing experience to HR&A, with a focus on community development lending and investment. Prior to joining HR&A, he most recently served as Lead Underwriter, Texas for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) where he originated and underwrote community development loans in Houston and San Antonio and provided capacity building support to non-profit affordable housing developers in Houston.

Peter holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College and a B.A. from the University of Virginia. He lives in Houston, TX.

Education
Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz
College of Public Policy and
Management, Master of Science in
Public Policy and Management, 2013
The University of Virginia, Bachelor of
Arts, Political and Social Thought,
2008

Amazon Housing Equity Fund
Supporting the Amazon Housing Equity Fund team in the implementation of a $3.6BN low-interest subordinate loan fund dedicated to catalyzing the preservation and development of over 35,000 affordable homes, Scope of work includes screening, underwriting and closing subordinate loans. Led the closing of over $200M in loans and $10M in grants. Led the negotiations for Amazon’s investment in the National Housing Trust to create the Amazon Homeownership Initiative.

CPC Climate Capital Program Design and Underwriting Support HR&A, in partnership with Horne Federal, provided underwriting support for CPC Climate Capital, a subsidiary of Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), as it advanced its decarbonization strategy using $2.5 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) through the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF). CPC Climate Capital’s fund aimed to finance the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by providing subordinate debt financing to multifamily housing owners nationwide, facilitating the shift away from on-site fossil fuel usage.

HR&A helped design and implement the loan program. Drafted key program documents including external facing term sheets, internal facing underwriting guidelines, and credit memo templates. Supported the management of CPC Climate Capital's lending pipeline through the screening, underwriting, and closing phases. HR&A's program design and transaction support work focused on the strategic goal of structuring financing that incented affordable housing developers to incorporate energy Work Experience
HR&A Advisors, Inc., 2022 – Present
Local Initiatives Support
Corporation (LISC), Lending Program
Officer, 2019-2022
Bank of New York Mellon, Vice
President, 2018-2019
Bank of New York Mellon, Lead
Analyst, 2016-2018
East Liberty Development, Inc., Land
Recycling Coordinator, 2014-2016
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership,
Consultant, 2014
Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment
Group, Program Coordinator, 2013-
2014

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efficiency measures that they would not have otherwise implemented, while complying with EPA’s federal cross-cutting guidance.

Austin Housing Portfolio Analysis and Site Selection Tool On behalf of the Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), developed a comprehensive site-specific affordable housing strategy to guide the development of 12 publicly owned sites, creating a digital platform and financial tools to support AHFC’s future housing initiatives. The strategy aimed to maximize affordable housing production, leveraging available financing mechanisms while accounting for zoning constraints, transit accessibility, LIHTC competitiveness, and funding gaps. Analyzed each site’s development potential, evaluating its eligibility for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), zoning and regulatory barriers, and infrastructure needs.

Created a development strategy that optimized unit yield while balancing neighborhood-specific factors and AHFC’s financing capacity. Built a series of template proformas to help AHFC evaluate future development opportunities and assess funding needs. Developed a digital site selection tool to streamline future affordable housing site acquisitions, automating site assessments and calculating parcel’s competitiveness for LIHTC based on state criteria.

Westchester Housing Flex Fund
On behalf of Westchester County’s Department of Planning, developed and implemented a new fund, based on a $100M grant allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, to guide the County’s investments in affordable housing developments and rehabilitations over a two-year period, prioritizing projects that matched the County’s public policy priorities and demonstrated shovel-readiness. Working in close consultation with County staff, designed application and competitive scoring processes, which aimed to leverage funding to achieve the County’s public policy goals of greater housing production and deeper affordability. Screened 31 applications and underwrote over $90M of funding supporting the development and preservation of over 1,200 affordable homes.

Wake County AHDP Underwriting 2024 and 2022
Supported Wake County in implementing its Affordable Housing Development Program (AHDP), which provides gap financing loans to affordable housing projects. Following HR&A’s previous assistance to the County in developing the AHDP underwriting guidelines, selection criteria and review process, evaluated six applications in the 2022 funding round and ten in the 2024 funding round. Initial reviews resulted in preliminary scores and a presentation to the Scoring Committee comprised of county and local government representatives. Interviewed the developers and negotiated best and final offers based on a detailed review of development budgets and cash flow projections, resulting in the submission of funding recommendations to the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

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Pronouns: He/Him/His
Arjun Gupta Sarma | Principal
Arjun leads digital product development at HR&A, focusing on the intersection of quantitative methods, data science, web development, and policy to drive insights and decision-making for clients across the country.

With a strong belief in leveraging data and technology to tackle complex urban challenges, Arjun collaborates with public and private sector clients to develop interactive dashboards, spatial analysis tools, and policy calculators.

These digital products enable monitoring of housing market conditions, demonstrate the impacts of development policies, and advocate for equitable outcomes.

Education
Harvard University, Master in Urban
Planning, Real Estate and Urban
Development, 2017
University of California – Berkeley, BA
– Political Economy, 2014

Charlottesville Upzoning Study
Evaluated the feasibility of an inclusionary zoning policy with RHI and Code Studio. Followed up on recommendations from the City of Charlottesville’s Affordable Housing Plan adopted in March 2021 calling for a rewrite of its existing zoning ordinance to support housing affordability across the city.

Used a series of financial models that considered existing market conditions and land use plans to determine the feasibility of offering affordable units in scenarios that incorporate different depths and levels of affordability (% of AMI and number of affordable units), development types, density levels, and/or developer incentive packages. Reviewed the Future Land Use Map’s requirements and established market and development assumptions to evaluate the rate of change of the policy’s impact on property value and new housing production. Produced final recommendations of the study expected to be implemented into Charlottesville’s new Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) Policy.

San Diego Affordable Housing Study
Developed a parcel-level inventory of all available subsidized and naturally- affordable housing in San Diego, and developed financial analyses and policy recommendations to guide the City’s preservation efforts. Created a regression algorithm that estimated the likelihood a parcel had naturally- affordable units—based on indicators like location, building age, size, and school district. Based on this analysis, developed typologies of the most common types of multifamily buildings with the most naturally-affordable units and mapped the city’s NOAH inventory. Conducted financial analyses for each of the typologies to estimate the subsidy required to preserve each unit.

Montgomery County Preservation Study
Led a study to assess Montgomery County’s current and future housing needs in support of the County's Thrive Montgomery 2050 general plan update. Analyzed demographic, economic, and housing market conditions, both benchmarking the county to its regional context and examining intra- county submarket trends. The study then identified and quantified the county's housing needs, understood as not only the overall supply of Work Experience
HR&A Advisors, Inc., 2017 – Present
Harvard Joint Center for Housing
Studies, Summer Fellow, Greater
Ashmont Main Street, 2016
City of Austin Code Department,
Research Analyst, 2014 - 2015
Austin Energy Green Building,
Research Analyst Intern, 2014
UC Berkeley Institute of Urban &
Regional Development, Golden Gate
Initiative, Research Assistant, 2012 –
2014

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housing required to accommodate county growth, but also the tenure, affordability, and types of housing required.

Montgomery County Housing Needs Assessment
Led an engagement with Montgomery National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) along with LSA Associates and Neighborhood Fundamentals to develop a detailed inventory of existing deed-restricted and unrestricted housing countywide. Based on this analysis, developed typologies of the most common types of multifamily buildings with the most naturally-affordable units and mapped the city’s housing inventory.

Developed recommendations detailed around policy tools, capacity-building, and financing sources to support preservation activities, as well as a review of nationwide best practices for preservation in comparable jurisdictions.

City of Atlanta Equitable Housing Needs Assessment
Developing an equitable housing needs assessment for the City of Atlanta and Fulton County to inform housing development as Atlanta moves towards its 2040 population growth target. Reviewing existing affordable housing plans, programs, and policies; analyzing demographic and market conditions; identifying existing publicly subsidized and naturally occurring affordable housing; and assessing affordable housing demand through a housing gap analysis to advise affordable housing production goals.

Performing a financial feasibility analysis and assessment of existing affordable housing tools to develop recommendations for improving the City’s current toolkit and implementing changes to mediate projected shortfalls. Working closely with stakeholders and the Atlanta Office of Housing and Community Development to develop a final housing needs assessment and implementation road map for the City.

Austin Housing Portfolio Analysis and Site Selection Tool On behalf of the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, developed a site- specific affordable housing strategy for a pre-existing portfolio, built a series of template proformas to aid AHFC in future development evaluation, and built a digital tool that would inform site selection for AHFC moving forward.

The portfolio strategy focused on the development of affordable housing across a portfolio of 12 sites acquired by AHFC. A separate, parallel workstream resulted in the building of a digital tool for AHFC. Because the Texas QAP is highly spatially prescriptive, having a digital tool that computes each parcel's individual LIHTC site selection scoring is imperative to viable LIHTC development. This digital tool was informed by the parameters of the Texas Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) to allow AHFC to instantly determine a parcel's competitiveness for LIHTC when contemplating future site acquisitions.

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Facilities and Equipment
HR&A’s Los Angeles office is located at 700 S. Flower Street, Suite 2995, Los Angeles, CA 90017. All analytical work will be conducted using HR&A’s internal systems and analytical platforms, including the Housing Weaver affordability modeling platform. No specialized equipment or City-provided facilities are required for this engagement. All staff are available for in-person meetings in Santa Clarita as needed; most coordination will occur via video conference.

Santa Clarita City CouncilJuly 14, 2026

Santa Clarita City Council
July 14, 2026