FHFA Participates in Historic Central Tennessee Listening Session on Workforce Housing
Franklin, TN – On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra L. Thompson visited central Tennessee to participate in a listening session on workforce housing challenges and solutions. The discussion focused on meeting location-specific challenges while helping to identify strategies that can be applied to geographically and culturally diverse cities across the country.
Setting a precedent for engagement at the local level, FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson noted, “The Central Tennessee Housing Task Force was well informed and brought numerous actionable solutions to enhance affordability and availability of workforce housing across the United States. I was impressed with their thoughtfulness on solutions that can be broadly considered across our nation, and this event embodies the importance of public engagement.”
Leading the listening session, the City of Franklin, Tennessee has focused for decades on addressing the barriers associated with providing both affordable and workforce housing while recognizing that more work must be done. Thanks to support from local leadership, the Task Force sessions have served to identify unique challenges around workforce housing with the goal of generating actionable policies that help Franklin access and build affordable, sustainable housing. The Task Force believes that the GSEs can play an increasingly important role in helping unlock equitable and sustainable housing without compromising systemic safety and soundness.
“The engagement with Director Sandra L. Thompson further amplifies the engagement and tools needed to assist communities across the country who face similar challenges with workforce housing availability and affordability. We are confident that Director Thompson will take these ideas and lead at a national level to enhance sustainable communities where everyone can live and work,” said Dr. Ken Moore, Mayor of Franklin, Tennessee.
In pursuit of further public engagement, FHFA is seeking experts from a variety of fields to focus on an array of housing topics, including fair lending, fair housing, civil rights, capital markets, investments, single- and multifamily lending, community advocacy, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, research, and more.
Visit FHFA’s website for more information about the Federal Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing.
-###-
