Best Resident Services Three Years Running
FILED TO: Lifting Lives
Las Vegas, Nevada
February 19, 2019
Kamakana Place, During the NAHB International Builder’s Show Awards Luncheon, held on February 19, 2019 in Las Vegas, housing industry visionaries from all over the country were honored for exceptional projects and achievements. Among the selected winners was The Michaels Organization and social-services partner Better Tomorrows, who received the 2018 award for Best Resident Services at an Affordable Community.
The annual award recognizes exceptional additional services provided to residents and their families. Selection of the winners is based on outstanding achievements in several areas, including on-site programming, additional education and training that aid residents’ efforts to advance in the workforce, and the impact on the overall quality of life for residents at the community.
Reception of this award marks the third year running that The Michaels Organization has been recognized for exceptional resident services by the National Association of Home Builders. In 2017 Gwendolyn Place in Chicago was selected as the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards winner in the Best Residences Services at an Affordable Apartment Community category. In 2016, Better Tomorrows’ Summer Enrichment Program, enacted at Raleigh Annex Apartments in Magee, Mississippi, received the same award.
Michaels’ and Better Tomorrows’ work at Kamakana is certainly worth of recognition. The housing market in Hawaii is in extremely high-demand of quality affordable housing. In response to that demand, Kamakana Villages at Keahuolu, a $52 million development, provides 170 new affordable homes for families and seniors.
The Michaels Organization is currently in the process of enacting social services at Kamakana and several more of its properties in Hawaii. In the past several years, Better Tomorrows has focused its efforts to bring extensive social services to The Towers at Kuhio Park, a nearby affordable senior-housing community owned and managed by Michaels. The results were felt immediately and are still being manifested through programs that directly serve the community in a culturally effective manner. Today, Better Tomorrows staff facilitates case management, supportive services, referrals, identifies emerging needs, and develops appropriate programming. Due to the extreme success and positive impact these programs had on the residents and the community at the Towers at Kuhio Park, Better Tomorrows is in the process of replicating these services at Kamakana Villages, where Michaels expects to find similar success.
Better Tomorrows serves residents of affordable housing sites across the nation. The organization partners with property management companies to gain direct access to low-income residents and the surrounding community. Its mission is to empower individuals, families, and neighborhoods to thrive. The Better Tomorrows impact-driven social service model is aimed at fostering economic stability, educational success, healthy lifestyles and strong communities. By providing a continuum of direct support to affordable housing residents and the neighboring communities, Better Tomorrows’ place-based programming and case management build safe and nurturing environments and uplift over 40,000 youth, adults, families, seniors, and individuals with special needs across 121 sites nationally
The Michaels Organization is a privately-held family of independent but integrated companies dedicated to excellence in affordable, military, student and conventional multifamily housing. Serving more than 140,000 residents in 380 communities across 35 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Michaels Organization is a national leader in the residential real estate industry, with full service capabilities in development, property and asset management, construction, and mortgage finance and tax credit syndication.
