Housing and Community Development Archives

The Briefing Room: Inside the Private Side of Housing Finance

Building affordable housing takes more than public funding. Private lenders and investors play a critical role in turning plans into completed projects. In Episode 4 of The Briefing Room's housing finance series, Dom Butchko and Terry Hickey are joined by Jordan Bishop of JPMorganChase to explore the private side of the capital stack - the financing that helps transform housing plans into completed communities. Tune in to the Conduit Street Podcast weekly, wherever you…

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July 21, 2026

County News / Economic Development / Environment / Housing and Community Development / Public Safety and Corrections

Baltimore City Expands Community Action Lab to Southeast District

Following the successful launch of its Community Action Lab earlier this year, the City of Baltimore is expanding the program to a second police district, giving more residents the opportunity to help lead neighborhood revitalization and public safety efforts. Applications are now open for the second Community Action Lab cohort, which will serve residents, community partners, and small business owners in the Baltimore Police Department's Southeastern District. The 12-week paid leadership program equips participants with…

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July 16, 2026

Housing and Community Development / Planning and Zoning / Transportation and Public Works

MACo Hosts Meeting to Address Housing Needs in Rural Maryland

MACo hosted a meeting of the Rural Maryland Council's Housing Working Committee to discuss legislative ideas for the upcoming 2027 legislative session. Earlier this week, MACo hosted the Rural Maryland Council’s Housing Working Committee for a discussion on potential legislation for the 2027 General Assembly session. Although housing policy has remained at the forefront in Annapolis, many of the solutions considered to date have focused primarily on urban and suburban communities, leaving rural jurisdictions with…

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July 16, 2026

Housing and Community Development / Summer Conference

What’s New at DHCD: Tools, Partnerships, and Opportunities for Counties

MACo’s 2026 Summer Conference Solutions Showcase features thought leaders and industry experts presenting resources and best practices to assist local governments. Check out this session hosted by Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)! About Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD): The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development transforms communities into places people want to call home. Through investments in community-led placemaking, housing and small business development, infrastructure and broadband deployment, we partner with local government, nonprofits, and private sector stakeholders to…

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July 15, 2026

Housing and Community Development / Transportation and Public Works

Maryland Awards $1B in Affordable Housing Financing

In FY 2026, Maryland awarded over $1 billion in affordable housing funds, underlining the need for more work to support project financing. For the 2026 fiscal year, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development awarded low-income housing tax credits and provided financing through state rental housing funds, the Multifamily Bond Program, and energy efficiency programs with an estimated value of more than $1 billion to create or preserve 3,025 affordable rental units. Funding was…

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July 15, 2026

County Budgets / County News / Economic Development / Housing and Community Development / State Budget and Fiscal Issues

The Briefing Room: The State’s Role in Solving Maryland’s Housing Crisis

Over the first two episodes of our housing finance series, Dom Butchko and Terry Hickey explored how affordable housing projects are financed and why today's economic conditions make development more challenging. In Episode 3, the conversation turns to the public sector. Tune in to the Conduit Street Podcast weekly, wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to the Conduit Street Blog and stay in the know!

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July 14, 2026

Energy / Environment / Housing and Community Development / Summer Conference / Transportation and Public Works

Green Banks Unlock New Investment for Local Infrastructure #MACoCon

Green banks could help counties bundle resilience projects, attract institutional investment, and expand funding for critical local infrastructure. Counties, particular smaller and more rural jurisdictions, often struggle to finance resilience, energy, and green infrastructure projects because smaller individual projects are generally too fragmented to attract pension funds, insurance companies, and other large institutional investors. Although these investors control significant amounts of capital and seek stable, long-term returns, they typically lack an efficient way to evaluate…

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July 13, 2026

County News / Economic Development / Education / Housing and Community Development

Howard To Launch Maryland’s First County Financial Empowerment Center

Howard County is set to launch Maryland’s first county-based Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), providing residents with free, one-on-one financial counseling and coaching through a new partnership supported by a $250,000 grant. Funded by the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund through the Wells Fargo Foundation, the new Financial Empowerment Center will be housed within Howard County’s Office of Consumer Protection and will offer professional financial counseling to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in…

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July 9, 2026

Housing and Community Development / Planning and Zoning

Deep Dive: Breaking Down the Housing Certainty Act

2026 will likely be remembered as the first session of affordability, with cost-of-living issues at the very top of the General Assembly’s legislative agenda. The two main focus areas were energy and housing policy, as costs in both areas have been growing faster than inflation and taking up an increasingly larger share of household budgets. On the housing front, the central bill passed by legislators was the Housing Certainty Act or HCA (HB548/SB325), which made…

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July 8, 2026

County Budgets / Economic Development / Housing and Community Development / State Budget and Fiscal Issues

The Briefing Room: Why Housing Costs More Than Ever

Housing projects do not rise or fall only on land, design, or political will. They also rise or fall with the cost of capital, aka the capital stack. Tune in to the Conduit Street Podcast weekly, wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to the Conduit Street Blog and stay in the know!

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July 7, 2026