DHCD Announces Annual Housing Awards, Highlights Session Wins at Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition Secretary’s Breakfast

By MEDA Admin | May 3, 2024

NEW CARROLLTON, MD (May 1, 2024) – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day and staff today attended the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition’s annual Secretary’s Breakfast to announce this year’s Housing Awards and promote the ongoing partnership between DHCD and the Coalition. Additionally, Secretary Day highlighted Governor Wes Moore’s 2024 Housing Package, which is a part of the Moore-Miller Administration’s effort to make Maryland more affordable. 

“Over the last year, the department worked in strong partnership with the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, engaging in regular discussions that were critical in developing  legislation and identifying our priorities for the 2025 Legislative Session,” said Secretary Jake Day. “That partnership is integral to crafting solutions that work for the benefit of Marylanders.”

MAHC Secretary's Breakfast

Secretary Day provided updates on the department’s $361 million Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Budget allocation, a $140 million increase over Fiscal Year 2024. The budget includes a $258 million allocation for the department’s Community Development Administration, with $110 million in additional funds for Rental Housing Programs. This funding will address the state’s 96,000-unit housing shortage and improve quality of life for more Marylanders, creating 5,100 new housing units and lifting 1,473 families and 2,268 children out of poverty. 

Chuck Cook, Chief Legislative Officer, provided a review of Governor Wes Moore’s 2024 Housing Package, which was signed into law on April 27. Discussion centered around the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act, which will expand affordable housing by removing or reducing artificial regulatory obstacles to producing more housing. 

Greg Hare, Assistant Secretary of the Division of Development Finance, presented the annual Multifamily Housing Awards, which were selected by DHCD staff and must have received financing from the department. Awarded projects include:

  • Construction Excellence – The Lewis – Mission First, Soto Architecture & Urban Design, Bozzuto Construction
  • Excellence in Affordable Housing Preservation – Colonnade at the Creek – MHP, Miner Feinstein Architects, Bozzuto Construction
  • Outstanding Community Revitalization – Woodland Gardens I & II – CHAI, Architecture by Design, Southway Builders

Secretary Day speaks with attendees of MAHC Secretary's Breakfast.

“Our members are prepared to get to work building new affordable housing units to address Maryland’s housing shortage, and the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act combined with record funding has created a path forward,” said MAHC Executive Director Miranda Darden-Willems. “We appreciate the partnership with DHCD and are eager to continue conversations in advance of the 2026 Legislative Session.”

For more information on the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, visit dhcd.maryland.gov.

For more information on the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, visit mdmahc.org.

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