April-May 2000 - Casden Properties decides not to renew federal Section 8 contract which expires June 30, 2000. Eviction notices sent to 600 low-income residents in 168 households.

May 2000 - DHA offers to buy property for $6.5m, but Casden refuses.

May 25, 2000 - DHA exercises power of eminent domain and starts condemnation proceedings against the company to force a sale to preserve the property's affordability. Denver District Court date set for June 13.

May 30, 2000 - Public hearing at East Village, Residents express concern. Mayor publicly supports DHA. Neighborhood supporters of redevelopment urge city to end seizure and back prospective buyer's, Post-Properties - at a reported $10.5million, mixed income plan.

June 7, 2000 - District Judge Warren Martin postpones hearing until Aug 10.

June 8, 2000 - Casden Properties extends federal Section 8 contract through Sept 30 avoiding pressing East Village evictions. Neighborhood meeting sponsored by The Hospital District Urban Design Forum, a coalition of neighborhood and hospital groups, to support Post Property's plan.

June 10, 2000 - East Village residents hold public rally against their potential/presently occurring displacement. Park Hill (another Section 8 property which is due to expire July 14) residents also concerned, holds informational meeting.

June 13, 2000 - East Village group pickets at the Denver City and County Building to protest District Judge Warren Martin's decision to delay hearing. Judge moves hearing on the condemnation effort to Sept. 1 from Aug. 10 at the request of the authority. Denver housing officials have presented a list of improvements they want made to the East Village apartments. The proposed sale price to Post Properties is reported at $12.8 million, which if it wins its case, the housing authority could be forced to pay for the property.

The issue. The owner may have the legal right to opt out of the Section 8 and go market. If so, and if the residents were displaced (even with regular FMR vouchers), there would be neighborhood disruption and the residents might have difficulty finding new apartments. Because the crisis has arisen suddenly, residents are already living in fearful uncertainty and there are questions about:

• What are the necessary repairs and improvements?
• What is the property's fair value? How does it compare to the offering prices that have been mentioned?
• Can public resources be assembled?
• Who is the optimal buyer (which might be a capable local non-profit other than the Denver Housing Authority)?

An acquisition intermediary. Ideally, a capable large non-profit could step in immediately, negotiate with the owner, and buy the property as an interim holding entity. Then that entity could properly analyze the property, identify the needed resources, locate the appropriate local non-profit, put the financing in place, and spin the property out to the local non-profit once the property was stabilized. This would allow the entity to negotiate effectively with owners, to prevent two local nonprofits from inadvertently competing, to buy and buy quickly, and not to overpay.

The solution: Section 402 of proposed legislation. Section 402 of the recently-introduced "Assistance to Nonprofit Purchasers for Preserving Affordable Housing" of the Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families Act provides much needed grants for the operational, working capital, and organizational expenses of entities like NHDC to acquire at risk housing units for the purpose of ensuring that the housing will remain affordable.