About Us
CivicStone works exclusively with affordable housing providers such as public agencies and non-profit entities. We have designed and implemented a variety of affordable housing strategies, programs and projects. Our goal is to explore creative solutions, collaborations, and leveraged funding in order to maximize the benefit to communities.
CivicStone started in 1998 with six cities under contract to design and administer an acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale program for foreclosure properties. This highly successful program rehabilitated nearly 1,200 foreclosure homes without public dollars and sold all of the homes to first-time homebuyers.
CivicStone also designs and administers Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Programs and brings a small team approach to provide efficient and cost effective solutions to labor intensive program administration. CivicStone has also coordinated Homebuyer Fairs and prepared a highly successful affordable housing presentation for several cities. CivicStone also administered the Lease to Own Program in ten Inland Empire cities.
Additionally, CivicStone wrote the City of Irvine Housing Strategy and created the Irvine Community Land Trust. In 2008, CivicStone coordinated the purchase of the first units for home ownership into the Trust. In 2007 CivicStone created the Community Land Trust for the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino.
In late 2008, CivicStone led an effort to organize cities throughout the Inland Empire into a coalition to explore the successful implementation of the NSP funding. CivicStone coordinated almost a dozen meetings of NSP grantees to discuss best practices and explore ways in which a collaborative effort would benefit the region. CivicStone is currently administering the NSP effort in two cities and training two other cities in the successful implementation of the NSP. This gives CivicStone a very clear understanding on what works and what doesn’t.
CivicStone wrote three NSPII applications, one of which was a consortium of non-profits that received $7.5 million from HUD. CivicStone worked in Northern California under a contract with Enterprise Community Partners to bring a regional acquisition and marketing approach to NSP agencies and their developer partners. In addition, CivicStone is working in Southern California under a contract with NeighborWorks America to integrate NSP grantees into the National Community Stabilization Trust and explore a regional marketing strategy.