Affordable Housing for Students: The Mission of College Housing Northwest - SHI1003

In this episode, co-host Greta Dare sits down with Alex Wallace, Development Manager at College Housing Northwest (CHNW), to explore how the nonprofit has been delivering affordable housing to Portland-area students since 1969. They discuss CHNW’s origins, current initiatives, and how the organization is partnering with schools and government programs to address rising student housing insecurity and homelessness. With innovative redevelopment strategies and a mission-driven approach, CHNW presents a compelling model for expanding access to affordable student housing across the U.S.

🕒 Time Stamps:

• 00:00:00 – Sponsor Message from Campus Technologies

• 00:01:00 – Introduction by Wesley Deese

• 00:03:00 – Why affordability in student housing isn’t discussed enough

• 00:04:15 – Introduction to College Housing Northwest (CHNW)

• 00:06:00 – Mission and structure of CHNW

• 00:07:00 – The rise of student homelessness and nationwide affordability crisis

• 00:11:00 – Statistics from the Hope Center on housing insecurity

• 00:13:00 – How CHNW began: the 1969 student-led initiative

• 00:15:00 – Types of developments and redevelopments CHNW has completed

• 00:18:30 – Hotel acquisition and conversion into student housing

• 00:20:00 – Student referral process and relationship with schools

• 00:21:30 – Lowering barriers: no guarantor or rental history required

• 00:24:00 – The evolving demographic of college students

• 00:27:00 – Exclusion from LIHTC and policy challenges

• 00:28:00 – Partnerships with schools and state governments

• 00:30:00 – Potential for broader partnerships with developers

• 00:34:30 – How to get involved with CHNW

• 00:36:00 – Closing thoughts and call for collaboration

🙌 Featured Guest:

Alex Wallace
Development Manager, College Housing Northwest
📧 Email: aWallace@chnw.org
🌐 Website: www.chnw.org

💡 Sponsor Highlight:

Campus Technologies
Campus Technologies delivers high-speed, stable internet infrastructure tailored for student housing — backed by nearly 25 years of industry experience. They also provide managed IT services for on-site teams.
📥 Download their white paper on best practices for upgrading internet infrastructure
🔗 Visit: campustechnologies.com

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• 📊 The Hope Center Report on student food and housing insecurity: https://hope.temple.edu

• 🖥️ Shop Talk Webinars by Student Housing Insight: https://www.shoptalk.info

• 🏢 College Housing Northwest: https://www.chnw.org

• www.StudentHousingInsight.com