Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Launches New Housing Affordability Initiatives Aimed at Promoting Affordable Housing and Homeownership Opportunities

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today was joined by local housing advocates to announce the launch of two new housing affordability initiatives aimed at promoting affordable housing and homeownership opportunities in Howard County. These initiatives include: (1) the filing of local legislation that will permit Howard County Government to issue bonds for its local Housing Opportunities Trust Fund (HOTF) and (2) the selling of County land at 9790 Washington Boulevard in Laurel, to the Howard County Housing Commission for the construction of a mixed-income homeownership community. Photos from the event can be found on the County’s Flickr website and video on the County Executive’s Facebook page.

Housing Opportunities Trust Fund – Charter Amendment
Overseen and administered by the County’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the HOTF is a local housing fund that promotes and supports equitable, geographically disbursed and affordable rental and for-sale housing opportunities throughout the county. The HOTF also supports many low- and moderate-income households, including older adults and persons with disabilities, when obtaining and maintaining housing that meets their needs at costs that they can afford. 

In his legislation, Ball is proposing an amendment to Section 601 of the Howard County Charter, that will include affordable housing projects financed in whole or in part by the HOTF within the definition of a “capital project.” This will allow the County to issue bonds for affordable housing construction. Specifically, this amendment would:

• Allow the County to consider long-term bond financing for affordable housing projects through the Capital Budget;
• Create a new financing tool for the County to use when supporting affordable housing projects; and
• Maintain strong affordability protections and public accountability.
  • Only projects that meet affordability requirements qualify. The HOTF requires that at least 50 percent of expenditures serve households less than or equal to 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Historically, the HOTF has relied on one-time appropriations and market-sensitive revenues, such as transfer taxes; however, funding is limited. Over a two-year period, the DHCD received $32.5 million in funding requests for just $15 million in available HOTF funding. While Ball’s proposed amendment does not automatically issue bonds, it creates the authority to use bonds – subject to future budget approval and public input, which provides greater flexibility to address housing needs strategically and at greater scale. It also provides the County with a modern financing tool to: 

• Address a growing housing shortage; 
  • Howard County faces a documented shortage of more than 6,000 affordable homes for households earning below $60,000 annually.
• Preserve affordability in high-opportunity communities; and 
• Build housing that better serves families.

Through HOTF, the County has delivered real results through new units, preserved homes, rental stability, and pathways to ownership. According to DHCD’s Fiscal Year 2025 HOTF Annual Report, the fund supported approximately 450 households between July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Additionally, affordable housing projects supported by HOTF include: 

• Patuxent Commons – a 76-unit mixed affordable and market-rate apartment community serving older adults and families in Columbia, featuring 19 units (25 percent reserved for people with disabilities. Residents began moving into the apartment community in November 2025.
  • HOTF Investment: $1.6 million 
• Legacy at Cedar Lane – currently under construction, this 123-unit mixed affordable and market-rate community replaces an aging and obsolete housing development in Columbia
  • HOTF investment: $2.275 million 
• The Vision at Parkway – currently under construction, this 82-unit mixed affordable and market-rate community replaces an aging housing development in Columbia.
  • HOTF investment: $2 million 

Affordable Homeownership Community
In addition to his legislation filing, Ball also announced that the County is selling its 1.92-acre Hurst property, located at 9770 and 9790 Washington Boulevard in Laurel, to the Howard County Housing Commission. 

In 2015, the Howard County Council adopted Council Resolution 69-2015 authorizing the County Executive to dispose of the Hurst property. In September 2024, Ball released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the purchase and redevelopment of the property. After a competitive RFP process, which included input from community members and stakeholders, the County chose the Housing Commission to purchase and redevelop the Hurst property into a mixed-income homeownership community. The Housing Commission also owns an adjacent 5.57-acre piece of land, a former mobile home community known as the Beechcrest property. Finally, the Commission has reached agreement to purchase the vacant and blighted Randy’s California Inn property on the corner US 1 and Whiskey Bottom Road. 

Altogether, these three parcels of land equate to roughly 10 acres of redevelopment opportunity in Howard County, on which the Housing Commission plans to construct a mixed-income homeownership community. Located less than a mile from the County’s North Laurel Community Center and within the County’s Route 1 Corridor revitalization area, this new community will feature approximately 60 homeownership units, with at least 30 percent will be affordable to households making up to 80 percent AMI. The units will likely be mixed between two-over-twos and a mix of townhomes, fulfilling a key missing middle housing opportunity needed in Howard County. The units are expected to sell in the low $300,000, substantially below market prices. 

“New starter homes in Howard County! The Housing Commission is extremely happy to be combining forces with the County to make this opportunity available to people with a wide-range of incomes,” said Peter Engel, Executive Director, Howard County Housing Commission. “At the same time, the development will bring life and vitality back to a long-neglected stretch of Route 1. This package is a win-win for both local and County residents and we look forward to working with the community as we firm up plans.”

To support the land acquisition and facilitate the redevelopment of these properties into affordable homeownership opportunities, DHCD is providing $1 million in funding through HOTF. Additionally, the State has awarded the County a grant of $150,000 through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Strategic Demolition Fund to demolish the vacant buildings and prepare the Hurst site for redevelopment. The County will commence with demolition this spring.

Moreover, the sale of land to the Housing Commission fulfills a key goal of Ball’s Housing Opportunities Master Plan, which encourages the County to surplus Howard County Government-owned land for the purposes of constructing mixed-income and affordable housing.

Here’s what others have to say:

• Christiana Rigby, Vice Chair, Howard County Council – “Importantly, this initiative expands opportunities for homeownership. Creating for-sale housing, particularly at price points accessible to working families, is essential. Homeownership remains one of the most powerful tools for building generational wealth and long-term stability. For many residents who already live and work in Howard County, this project represents a pathway to put down deeper roots in the community they live, love and serve in.”
• Jackie Eng, Coordinator, Howard County Housing Affordability Coalition – “Instead of scrambling each year to find general revenue dollars, our County’s Housing Trust should have a dedicated funding stream to meet the General Plan annual target of producing 300 new housing units for people with moderate and low incomes. Fueling our Trust Fund by issuing bonds—just as we do for schools and roads—will give our community a steady, long-term way to invest in more housing infrastructure.”
• Nikki Highsmith Vernick, President and CEO, Horizon Foundation – “We want Howard County to be a place where quality, stable homes that people can afford are widely available. One solution is not the magic bullet, but ensuring our Housing Opportunities Trust Fund has a sustainable and robust source of funding is an important part of achieving this goal. The Trust Fund supports affordable housing creation, unit preservation, rental assistance and homeownership. We must support these efforts and invest in a housing system that works for everyone in order to improve our community’s wellbeing and prosperity.”
• Laura Salganik, Member of People Acting Together in Howard (PATH) – “PATH supports Council Resolution 40, changing the County charter so the County can issue bonds to support Housing Opportunities Trust Fund projects. In listening sessions this fall, PATH heard loud and clear that more people in our county are facing real affordability challenges, with housing costs their biggest stress. We need new tools so we can build more, and really make housing accessible for more people.”
• Antoine RJ Wright, Community Member and Nearby Resident – “As a neighbor to the newly acquired property, I look forward to seeing new residents call North Laurel home. Not because they are speeding through, but because the fabric of what the Housing Commission is going to do here is very much the DNA of Howard County.”