2012 PHFA Annual Report - Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency

1991
PHFA first begins offering
closing cost assistance to
first-time homebuyers.
1988
Start of HOMES rental
housing program (now
known as PennHOMES).
Creating a housing agency
that succeeds at innovation and
embraCING chaNGe
If you were to pick an executive director who played a pivotal role in
guiding PHFA during its formative years, it would have to be Karl Smith.
He served as executive director for nine years — from 1987 until 1996
— years that, in hindsight, set a positive tone for how the agency would
conduct business and laid a foundation for future growth.
Under Smith’s leadership, the agency initiated and expanded
programs focused on rental housing, homeownership and foreclosure
prevention that continue to define the agency’s core character.
“It had always struck me as a place that had a lot of potential,” Smith
recalled about what drew him to the agency.
At this critical time in PHFA’s development, Smith and the board
institutionalized a culture that not only accepted innovation and change,
but embraced it.
“That was one of the advantages of things here. You could start
something, and if it didn’t work you could stop it. We’d just say it
didn’t work and move on. That was thanks to the independence of
the agency.”
Learning by doing
was part of the job
For instance, Smith shared how the agency changed its approach to
the multifamily rental developments it was funding as it learned from
its own experience and the experience of other states. As a result, the
emphasis at PHFA changed from funding large buildings for only lowincome
families to, instead, building on a smaller scale, building for
families at multiple income levels, and rehabilitating existing buildings
with historical significance whenever possible.
“As we got more into rehabilitating existing buildings, that really helped
a lot. You’d reuse and fix up a landmark that had been in the community
for decades rather than tearing something down and putting something
new up. That was much more acceptable to the community.
“For example, there’s an affordable housing development in Harrisburg
that no one realizes is one of our projects, and that’s really the way you
want it because it blends into the community.”
Under Karl Smith, PHFA became known
from that time are a legacy that continues to shape and guide the
nationally as an agency eager to pioneer new
agency decades later.
affordable housing programs. He’s still fondly
remembered by the staff for his genuine
concern for the agency’s employees.
section name annual report 2012
8
The culture and values established by Smith and the board members
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