College Park, Maryland, is encouraging University of Maryland employees and city employees to purchase a home within its limits with its homeownership program. In order to qualify, university employees must be full-time and benefits-eligible, while city employees must be full-time. Homes purchased must be within the municipal boundary of College Park. The College Park City-University Partnership’s homeownership program provides $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance and is structured as a 10-year, zero-interest forgivable loan.

In 2015, the Partnership began implementing strategies and initiatives in the University District Vision 2020. At this point, only 4% of the University of Maryland employees actually lived in College Park, which meant many had long commutes. Thus, the homeownership program was created as a simple home-buying solution.

In order to take advantage of the program, buyers would select a home in the city and then submit completed paperwork, including the Partnership’s application, a signed human resources letter, an appraisal, a signed loan application and a ratified contract of sale. All applications are reviewed by the Partnership’s staff and executive director. If an application is approved, a formal loan commitment is signed, and the Partnership provides the title company with the necessary legal documents and funds at closing.

According to Kendra McAbee, College Park City-University Partnership communications coordinator, “The process for building and implementing this program is a testament to the power of partnership — when all entities worked together to research, build, fund and announce this important initiative.”

It only took six months to get from the concept to the first buyers utilizing the program. Similar programs, such as Live Baltimore, Johns Hopkins’ Live Near Your Work and other Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development programs, were researched to discover best practices. The Partnership also consulted its previous Live/Work College Park program, U3 advisors, attorneys and accountants for assistance in creating the necessary legal documents, policies and procedures.

The board of directors is made up equally of representatives from both the university and the city. While the program was under development, funding was applied for through the Department of Housing and Community Development Community Legacy grant. This funding is matched by the city and university annually. The program was brought to the board after program development for discussion and approval. Once approved, it was announced as part of the Smart Place to Live and University District Vision event series. Since 2015, this program has been used to help over 81 buyers purchase a home in College Park.

“The benefits are seen through the number of people using the program and making College Park their home,” McAbee described. “It’s seen through the fact that 69% are first-time homebuyers and 67% of homebuyers have shorter commutes by a more varied mode, such as bike walk or bus. This contributes to broader state and regional climate change goals by reducing commutes and vehicle miles traveled closer to work. One homebuyer mentioned, ‘I can live an almost car-free lifestyle.’”

The amount of university employees living in College Park has also increased to 6% from the original 4% seen in 2015.

Many of these homebuyers also participate in a variety of other city events and initiatives. This includes the farmer’s market, sustainability initiatives like the bee hotel program and seasonal festivals. “This sense of community builds on the goals of the Partnership to have a vibrant campus community,” McAbee explained. “As one homebuyer put it, ‘College Park — it’s like living in a big city with all the benefits but also having a quiet place to put down roots.’”

The city of College Park and the University of Maryland came together to create the College Park City-University Partnership 25 years ago in order to achieve shared community development goals. Strategic plans, such as Vision 2020 and currently Vision 2030, help to bridge the gap between them.

“One of the key pillars of the strategic plan is housing — increasing the rate of owner-occupied, single-family homes within the city,” McAbee stated. “Out of these discussions arose the idea of creating a separate vehicle utilizing the concept of a community land trust as one of several tools to address housing affordability. The College Park Community Preservation Trust was formed and is a program of the partnership. It is one of 15 registered affordable housing land trusts in the state of Maryland.”

The trust purchases homes at market price and is backed by approximately $15 million in capital funding from local, state, federal and philanthropic grants. These homes are then resold to buyers at an adjusted price based on the affordability level of the homebuyer. This is done by the trust selling the home but keeping the land. The buyer then agrees to a 99-year affordability requirement on the home and gives the trust first right of refusal in order to repurchase the home when the buyer sells it.

“A unique shared equity agreement allows for the buyer to enjoy market increases in the value of the home with a component that entails some of the upside going to the trust for the trust to reach even more homebuyers,” McAbee described.

Participants must meet certain income requirements in order to be considered for the affordable housing land trust. They must earn 65-140% of the median family income, which is slightly above $200,000 for a family of four in the Washington metropolitan area and is adjusted up or down for family size. Participants must also qualify for a mortgage and complete a homeownership class approved by their lender. Price will be determined based on the participant’s current debts and estimated costs of homeownership, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Applications are available online at www.communitypreservationtrust.org.

She continued, “Housing affordability is a complex, ubiquitous issue affecting communities across the United States. The Community Preservation Trust is just one of several approaches used by the Partnership and our institutional partners to address housing concerns in our community. Together, the city of College Park, the University of Maryland, the partnership and the Community Preservation Trust specifically selected the community land trust model. By crafting a structure that allows for more people of various economic means to become homeowners, the trust is changing the way people think about homeownership in College Park. As more people want to be in College Park — and stay there — the region can see and feel the benefits of this continued stability.”

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