PM Environmental (PM) has been offering affordable housing services for over 15 years, and in that time the sector has grown considerably. Projects have understandably become more complicated with time, and PM has adapted to the needs of the clientele. PM has the capacity to move projects along from the initial Phase I ESA to the final stage of No Further Action (NFA) status and/or closeout, and deal with all of the intermediate steps in between. Most of these projects are subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and trigger environmental reviews under 24 CFR Part 58. This can often cause projects to experience backups and roadblocks, leading the less prepared to face deadline issues. PM has prided itself on its ability to communicate across teams in order to tap into skill sets that resolve holdups.

In response to the growing needs of the affordable housing sector, PM has created the position of a dedicated Affordable Housing Coordinator. This role was more than a year in the making and will allow PM a greater capacity to keep up with the ever-changing world of affordable housing. Jackie Shafer has become increasingly more active in these projects, and thus was a natural fit for the position. In the past five years, she has seen dozens of successful projects. She will be responsible for the coordination and completion of affordable housing projects. These projects often involve multiple stakeholders and various funding sources, and she will be able to provide clients with valuable guidance to navigate the requirements needed to qualify for funding.

Many of these projects are extensive and can take years before they are complete. Jackie is quite familiar with the process, and says of the experience, “Most of the time clients will typically engage us for the entirety of the projects, which gives us a lot of time to build good relationships and trust. Many are long-term clients who trust us completely to get them what they need. Communication and organization are key to these projects, internally and externally.”

In this new role, though Jackie will be the point person for affordable housing, she will be collaborating with a great team of experts to find solutions. Affordable housing projects include activities across service lines at PM and can also long timelines, and Jackie will be leading this project management internally. She will be working with expert affordable housing project managers in various service lines, including Due Diligence, Site Investigation Services, Industrial Hygiene, and Brownfield and Economic Incentives.

“This is a much-needed role at PM due to the extensive work we do with affordable housing clients,” says Kristin Gable, PM’s National Manager of Due Diligence. “The new role will allow PM to provide consistent, expert services to our clients.” Broadly, the role involves managing timelines internally for new and ongoing affordable housing projects and staying on top of new funding sources and requirements and how they affect projects. Externally, Jackie will be in contact with clients regarding status updates and requesting additional information to keep their projects moving.