Coalition leader urges larger, flexible HPTF and a citywide housing strategy

Stephen Glaude, the mayor’s nominee to chair the Housing Production Trust Fund advisory board, told the Committee on Housing that the fund’s flexibility has made it effective but that scale and a broader strategy are lacking. Glaude said much of recent HPTF work has shifted among preservation, production and stabilization depending on need, and that the fund should be allowed to respond to the moment.

“We have to be the most efficient, but I think there’s some other questions that are not being asked around how do we structurally put in play the things that we need to ensure that we have the District of Columbia that we want,” Glaude said. He added: “The fund should probably be $500,000,000 a year,” arguing that $100 million annually cannot carry the burdens of the current market. Glaude also described a small-building preservation initiative (5–49 units) and said many buildings are owned by district residents who need interim financing and repair assistance.

Glaude said an advisory board should create transparent, cross-sector deliberations and better communication between DHCD, the mayor’s office, the council and practitioners. He proposed regular data-driven reporting and emphasized that any new capital tools must account for post-pandemic arrears and building-level debt burdens before private investors will re-engage.