RAD consulting

Collaborative Housing Solutions offers development consulting to Public Housing Authorities and developers interested in participating in the HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. Collaborative Housing Solutions staff has been involved with 33 successful RAD conversions totaling over 4,600 units, has provided technical assistance on thousands of units, and is currently working on 20 RAD transactions totaling over 3,000 units. Collaborative Housing Solutions has or is currently working with 40 Public Housing Authorities in 12 states amounting to over 14,000 RAD units in 90 projects. Collaborative Housing Solutions staff has been involved with several of the first public housing RAD conversions in the country. We have helped our partners participating in the RAD program to successfully use a variety of financing methods for preservation, including 9% LIHTCs, 4% LIHTC/tax-exempt bonds, FHA financing, HOME funds, Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program grants, and Public Housing Authority funds.

We leverage our development expertise to synergistically help our partners fulfill their mission to convert to a more stable funding platform that the RAD program provides. Our flexibility gives our partners a customized approach to meeting their unique needs. By offering an array of services to choose from, we provide our clients with cost efficient ways to maintain control and receive the exact level of expertise they need.

recent RAD projects


Some of the RAD developments that we have consulted on include:


Meriwether Homes Redevelopment


A redevelopment of existing public housing into a new mixed-income community in Griffin, Georgia built in three phases by Pennrose Properties and the Griffin Housing Authority. For the $15.2 million Phase I development, Collaborative Housing Solutions staff oversaw the successful application for 9% LIHTCs and helped secure a state HOME loan, an Affordable Housing Program grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, and a commitment of rental assistance in HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.

Collaborative Housing Solutions staff also oversaw the successful allocations of 9% LIHTCs for Phases II and III, which are $13.5 million and $10.8 million developments, respectively. We have also oversaw the submission of RAD applications for Phase II and III. The property is participating in an award-winning community-wide collaboration of educational institutions and community organizations to provide cradle-to-career educational support to its families. Over time, the transformative strategy will nurture healthy families, who feel safe within a stable neighborhood where family and community members support learning and where students are provided 21st-century learning tools.

Phase I of the development was awarded the 2016 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the Public Housing category.
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Lavonia Housing Authority Properties


A RAD conversion of all of the Lavonia Housing Authority’s (LHA) 180 units scattered across 10 sites, all within a 9-mile radius in Lavonia, Georgia.  The majority of the housing stock was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is characteristic of public housing constructed throughout the Southeast during that era.  LHA chose to undertake a RAD conversion to secure a more stable funding platform in order for the properties to be physically and financially sustainable over the long-term.  Collaborative Housing Solutions staff assisted LHA throughout the RAD underwriting and closing process, including providing financial models.  LHA used its own Capital Funds and operating reserve funds to undertake minor repairs as part of the $750,000 RAD conversion.

Collaborative Housing Solutions staff assisted the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to create the RAD Multi-Site Bond Program to match public housing authorities (PHAs) participating in the RAD program with a developer partner to collectively secure 4% LIHTCs and tax-exempt bonds to rehabilitate the PHA’s properties. The program targeted small PHAs which could not otherwise secure financing on their own due to the small size of their portfolios. Collaborative Housing Solutions helped DCA create the program and served as the facilitator of the PHAs’ decision-making process.  It is hoped that the program will serve as a national model of an innovative approach to preserving smaller aging affordable housing properties.  
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The program was also highlighted in Affordable Housing Finance magazine.

our RAD consulting services

The scope of RAD consulting services that we offer includes:

  • Project Structuring

  • Financial Feasibility Assessment and Financial Modeling

  • Comparative Analysis of Properties Most Suitable for RAD

  • RAD Application Preparation

  • Coordination of the Due Diligence Required for the RAD Financing Plan Submittal Process

  • Development Team Coordination

  • Financing Application and Closing Coordination

  • RAD Conversion Closing Coordination

We have provided training and presentations about the RAD program to a variety of national stakeholder groups in the housing industry. For more information about the RAD program, read an article on Collaborative Housing Solutions staff provided in the Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition’s newsletter.

“Several credible people told me Richelle Patton was THE best RAD consultant out there. What I didn’t know at the time was what a quality person she is and what a pleasure it is to work with her.”William Russell, President and CEO of Sarasota Housing Authority