Jerry Altman's Contributions to Affordable Housing

Key Insight

Jerry Altman, an economics graduate from the Wharton School, dedicated his career to advancing affordable housing solutions. His professional journey began in Hartford, Connecticut, where he served as a planning administrator and later as assistant city manager. In these roles, Altman proposed innovative, community-based initiatives, such as a $25000 study for a solar energy product corporation, demonstrating an early interest in leveraging federal grants and creating new forms of non-profit entities. A personal relocation brought him to Chicago, a recognized hub for community organizing, where he established himself as an affordable housing consultant.

In Chicago, Altman became a vital part of Harold Washington's historic administration, volunteering extensively for his 1983 mayoral campaign and subsequently joining his housing transition team. He contributed to a task force focused on combating landlord abandonment in low-income areas, a strategy that would later be adopted as a national blueprint and submitted to Congress in 1984. Altman's most impactful innovation emerged during his tenure at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): he devised a novel financial mechanism utilizing a specific tax code provision that allowed developers of affordable housing to accelerate property depreciation. This method effectively lowered tax burdens for investors, thereby channeling those savings directly into funding housing projects.

This innovative approach was successfully applied to various projects, including the rehabilitation of a six-unit apartment building in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, securing funding from Continental Bank. Altman's work significantly influenced federal policy, inspiring the creation of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which saw Congressman Dan Rostenkowski championing a $10 billion allocation in a 1986 federal bill. Beyond Chicago, Altman's expertise extended nationwide, such as in Lowell, Massachusetts. There, he collaborated with the Coalition for a Better Acre, securing Aetna funding for a $2.8 million project to construct 24 homes and later proposing an ambitious $20 million HUD redevelopment for a 200-unit property, showcasing his relentless optimism and skill in bridging corporate and community interests.