Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation

Preliminary Feasibility Report for The City of Los Angeles is Published!

The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation, together with Artspace  has published its Preliminary Feasibility Report for The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs through a Grant from the NEA Mayor’s Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative. To download a PDF of the report, click here. For more information on this initiative, please visit the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Website:  www.culturela.org.

About The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation

Mission statement:  Developing affordable, supportive and senior housing for the performing arts community that improves lives, creates jobs, fosters economic development and revitalizes communities

 Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation (AFHDC) Board of Directors

 Scott Weiner, President & CEO, AFHDC
Joseph Benincasa, President & CEO, The Actors Fund (Chair)
Robert Wankel, Co Chairman & CEO, The Shubert Organization (Vice Chair)
Tonio Burgos, CEO, Tonio Burgos & Associates
Rose Cali, Trustee, Montclair State University
Barbara Davis, COO, The Actors Fund
Kristen Madsen, Sr. VP, The Grammy Foundation & MusiCares Foundation
David Steiner, Chairman, Steiner Equities
Connie Yoo, CFO, The Actors Fund 

Established in 2009 as a subsidiary of The Actors Fund, the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation (AFHDC) develops high quality, affordable, supportive and senior housing for the performing arts and entertainment community.

The AFHDC is actively evaluating such housing development opportunities in Newark, NJ and New York City.  The organization is also leading the initial feasibility studies for a residential component of a new mixed-use project in downtown Los Angeles, CA.  A hallmark of AFHDC developments is the integration of, among other things, affordable live/work spaces for creative professionals, rehearsal facilities and a performance space.

Since 1902, The Actors Fund has provided retirement housing for members of the entertainment community.  Accommodating show people with secure and affordable living has been a part of The Actors Fund for more than 100 years, earning the Fund a recognized expertise in the development and management of affordable housing.  Prior to the establishment of the AFHDC, The Actors Fund successfully collaborated with other developers to create housing opportunities for these professionals in New York City and Los Angeles. 

Today, The Fund provides affordable housing, assisted living, and various other services:

• The Lillian Booth Actors Home is a state-of- the-art assisted living and skilled nursing care facility in Englewood, New Jersey, which provides quality health care and supportive services for seniors who dedicated their professional lives to performing arts and entertainment, as well as their immediate family members.

• The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence (formerly The Aurora) is an affordable, supportive housing residence on 57th Street in Manhattan, which provides housing to low-income professionals, seniors and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

• The Palm View (a partnership with West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation) provides affordable housing to industry members living with HIV/AIDS in West Hollywood, California.

• The Schermerhorn (a partnership with Common Ground Community) opened in 2009.  It provides housing for low-income professionals in entertainment and the community, as well as formerly homeless individuals with HIV/AIDS or mental health needs.  It is located in downtown Brooklyn, New York.

• The Housing Resource Center provides information on finding affordable housing, roommate and home sharing, tenants’ rights, housing court and first-time home buyers.   The Housing Resource Center also sponsors the Housing Bulletin Board where industry members can post housing availabilities and search for places to live.

The AFHDC has initially focused its activities in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and Los Angeles.  Future development initiatives will target Chicago and Las Vegas.  The AFHDC anticipates a balanced funding mix for the actual development of the properties, with support from both public and private sources.  The buildings will be funded by a variety of means, including tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, combined with philanthropic dollars.

The AFHDC was established to respond to the current and compelling need for affordable housing for the professional arts community.  Launching the AFHDC will deliver essential support for our community—providing safe, affordable housing for those in need.

For further information please contact the AFHDC’s President and CEO, Scott Weiner at 212.221.7300 ext. 106 or sweiner@actorsfund.org.

Scott Weiner, President and CEO, AFHDC

Scott Weiner is the President, CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation, a Not For Profit Corporation that develops affordable, supportive and senior housing for individuals engaged in the performing arts and entertainment industry. Prior to being elected to those positions in May 2010, Scott served as the Chairman of the AFHDC and as a Trustee of its parent organization, The Actors Fund.

Scott is an experienced executive who has successfully led public agencies and private enterprises. From 2006 through 2008, he served as Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority and its predecessor, the New Jersey School Construction Corporation. In that capacity, he was responsible for the state’s multi-billion dollar initiative to develop and construct public schools in New Jersey’s poorest districts. The agency’s responsibilities spanned the development process from need assessment through land acquisition and construction. During Scott’s tenure, among other accomplishments, 40 new schools were opened and an additional 50 projects were funded and commenced. Immediately prior to that position, Mr. Weiner served as a member of the transition team for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and also served as the Governor’s Special Counsel for School Construction.

A licensed attorney, Scott has practiced law with a concentration in land use and municipal finance where he represented public agencies seeking to raise funds through the sale of tax-exempt bonds.
Scott has also had a distinguished career in the energy industry having served as a senior executive in a number of private and public corporations. Prior to his current role at the AFHDC, Scott led an initiative to commercialize solar energy applications in the commercial real estate and utility sectors. He is the founding Director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy at Rutgers University and has served as a Senior Policy Fellow and Faculty Fellow at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

In addition to his tenure at the Schools Development Authority, Scott has held a number of other senior executive positions in the public sector. These include serving as the President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy and Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio. During the Florio Administration, Scott served as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Executive Commission of Ethical Standards. Scott also served as a member of the Clinton-Gore EPA Transition Team.

A recognized leader of stakeholder and industry associations, Scott has served as a board member and is the former chairman of the US Business Council for Sustainable Energy. He also previously served as a board member of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Electric Power Supply Association, the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas, and the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology.

Scott serves on the boards of The American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, The Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, and Newark Public Radio - WBGO. He is a graduate of New York University and has a Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School where he graduated magna cum laude.

For further information please contact the AFHDC’s President and CEO, Scott Weiner at 212.221.7300 ext. 106 or sweiner@actorsfund.org.

AFHDC In the News: 

Actors Fund hopes to build subsidized housing in Newark
March 25, 2012, Star-Ledger
Now the nonprofit organization is eyeing locations in Newark for artist housing, and according to a recent survey of almost 1,500 New York City-area performers, there’s plenty of demand.

Actors Fund Helps Housing Woes
Summer 2010, Screen Actor

Actors Fund in housing play
December 6, 2009, Crain’s New York