Bloomberg Has HUD Section 8 Contract Bid Story: HUD Says $100 Million Saved, OHCS Says Up to 24 Positions Could be Lost.

Bloomberg Government has picked up on the HUD Section 8 Contract Administration bid story and published a story which unfortunately requires a subscription to view.  

I was contacted by the reporter and provided background and data for the story, so it is disappointing that I cannot yet provide you with a link. I am told it will be available on Bloomberg News on Monday and if I find, I will post that direct link to the story, and I encourage you to read the entire story.  

As a courtesy, the reporter sent me the story and I will summarize some of the reporting from public agencies and officials:

    New York Housing Trust Fund officials indicated that they had a higher technical rating than the winning bidder but lost because HUD failed to reveal importance of price. My Comment: That is same argument raised by OHCS. 

    OHCS says it may need to lay off up to 24 employees.
    Carol Galante, the DAS for MF, and now the Acting FHA Commissioner, said in an interview that HUD will save 30% of costs, or nearly $100 million. She indicated that the average successful bid fee was 1.7%
       One additional comment: While the first version of the story indicates 22 bid protests which was accurate at time story was originally written, the count is now 33 GAO bid protests. My count is that currently more than 10,000 unduplicated projects and 740,00 units are under protest in 25 different states.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

NYC PHA Gets $20 Million from Goldman Sachs for New $100 MILLION School in Harlem Public Housing Project.

From NY Times blog story HERE:

The 134,600-square-foot building aims to be a model for education in housing projects nationwide. There will be classrooms for 1,200 kindergarten through 12th grade students, as well as a gymnasium, fitness center, music room, outdoor rooftop spaces and space set aside for health and social services for the neighborhood. Children from the St. Nicholas Houses, which will surround the building, will be given priority in the charter school’s lottery.
The $100 million building is a public-private partnership. The city is contributing $60 million from a capital fund for charter school construction, and the Harlem Children’s Zone is raising $40 million. The city will own the building, and the Harlem Children’s Zone will be responsible for its operation and upkeep according to the terms of a 99-year-lease, a spokesman for the organization said.

PR from Harlem Children's Zone with more details about the K-12 school is HERE.

$20 million apparently comes from a Goldman Sachs Gives fund that was established with a $500 million allocation made last year by Goldman partners for charitable purposes.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Supreme Court to Hear NY Case on State Jurisdiction to Investigate Fair Housing Violations by Banks with National Charters.

SCOTUS Blog has post HERE about the case.

Post says that the case" involves a Second Circuit Court ruling that bars state officials from investigating claims that banks holding national charters are engaging in race or ethnic bias in the home mortgage market."

Case is Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, 08-453. Look for this docket number mid page of January 16,2009 "Docket to Watch" page HERE to download Opinion and other documents.