The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has established a

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has established a Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, which will work with other organizations on the design, development, and financing of mixed-income workforce housing in several urban areas. The Center, founded with a $5 million commitment from J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based Trammell Crow Residential and former chairman of ULI, will focus initially on three metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Washington, DC, and southeast Florida. In the first three metro areas, the Center, based in Washington, aims to produce at total of at least 3,500 units of workforce housing within five years. ULI Senior Resident Fellow William H. Hudnut III says the Center will advocate greater use of inclusionary zoning, which offers development incentives such as density bonuses in return to providing a certain percentage of below-market-rate units. “Inclusionary zoning is one of the best tools to get housing built that people can afford, and it does this in a mixed-income housing context,” Hudnut says. The Center will identify barriers to workforce housing, such as inflexible zoning and building codes. Its partners in this effort are expected to include chambers of commerce, employer organizations, builders associations, and housing advocacy groups. To get the program rolling, ULI had Harris Interactive conduct a survey this spring among commuters and employers. Some companies — especially large ones — reported that an inadequate supply of affordable housing nearby is causing business problems, ranging from high employee stress to rapid employee turnover. “What we’re seeing from employers and lower- to moderate-income workers signals a need for more housing to be built closer to jobs,” Hudnut says.