People, policy, and preservation with Community Preservation Partners’ Seth Gellis

·31 min·3 clips

75% of Americans can't afford a median-priced home, making affordable rental housing a critical pathway.

Diego Sanchez hosts Seth Gellis, President of Community Preservation Partners, on the Power House podcast. Gellis introduces himself as a family man and describes CPP as a national developer focused on preserving affordable multifamily housing. He outlines CPP's scale: 16,000 units in 19 states, totaling $4.2 billion in assets, under parent company WNC. Gellis explains why single-family housing executives should pay attention to multifamily, citing statistics that 75% of Americans cannot afford a home and linking affordable rental housing to community sustainability. He details CPP's financing model, primarily using the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit paired with private activity bonds, which is highly competitive. Gellis discusses CPP's geographic and demographic focus, including rural housing and senior citizens, and their 'local anywhere' strategy involving partnerships. He describes CPP's project lifecycle, emphasizing long-term asset management over 15 years due to tax credit compliance. Gellis touches on policy advocacy through organizations like the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing and the impact of potential HUD cuts. He explains CPP's office structure, with main offices in Irvine and Reston and dispersed teams. Gellis highlights specific projects, such as a historic brewery conversion in New Haven, Connecticut, that increases affordability from 30% to 80% of units. He addresses the complexities of retrofitting office buildings to residential, noting high costs and structural challenges. The episode concludes with Gellis emphasizing the importance of affordable housing for addressing the national supply crisis.

As heard by us

Seth Gellis shows how one housing operator applies mission and discipline across very different projects.

Power House follows Seth Gellis at Community Preservation Partners through the practical work of running a housing business across very different formats, places, and deal sizes.

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Why you'd press play

Want to hear a housing executive hold 14-unit projects and half-billion-dollar deals in the same mental model?

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