Housing Forward

Happening this week! Register today for your spot at our event on 9/23, “Navigating Tulsa’s Housing Finance Landscape: Drinks and Dialogue.”

Join housing finance experts:
● Lisa Albers, Senior Vice President, BOK Financial
● Chloe Dotson, President of the Tulsa Housing Impact Fund
● Marty Fotta, Director of Housing Development, Housing Forward
● Moderated by Jeffery Hall, Senior Program Officer for Housing and Capital Development, The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation

🎟️ RSVP here:

Navigating Tulsa's Housing Finance Landscape: Drinks & Dialogue Join Tulsa’s resident housing finance experts for a conversation on the housing finance landscape in the Tulsa Metro.

918 Day! Today our team shared our appreciation for Tulsa joining in with Tulsa Area United Way’s Day of Caring, cleaning up at Gathering Place (and even got to take a turn on the free paddle boats when we wrapped up!).

Join Tulsa’s housing finance experts on September 23rd for a conversation spanning rising insurance costs, fluctuating tax credit value, and the opportunities ahead for Oklahoma in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

🎟️ RSVP here:

Navigating Tulsa's Housing Finance Landscape: Drinks & Dialogue Join Tulsa’s resident housing finance experts for a conversation on the housing finance landscape in the Tulsa Metro.

Oklahoma is now ranked 41st in the country for homeownership.

KJRH spoke with Housing Forward’s Executive Director Tyler Parette on the incremental policy changes Oklahoma needs to make in order to bring housing affordability back to everyday Oklahomans.

Policy changes like re-legalizing single-stair housing, smaller lot sizes and more will help “bring prices back to a level where people can comfortably afford to live and start attracting workforce talent so business stays booming in our state,” said Tyler.

Oklahoma experts push new housing policies to address rising costs and low homeownership Affordable housing remains one of the big topics around the country, and across the state. 2 News Oklahoma's TJ Eckert went to the state Capitol and heard from lawmakers and experts on the issue.

In tomorrow’s legislative interim study (9/15) with Sen. Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville) and Rep. Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa), we will be talking about the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

National Association of Home Builders worked closely with Senate and House legislators to get the landmark bill passed and shared what housing professionals should know about the legislation below.

21st Century ROAD to Housing Act What housing professionals need to know about the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act – a once-in-a-generation housing package. Top provisions address land use and zoning, environmental reviews, aging housing stock, multifamily financing tools and community banks.

This week Housing Forward’s Director of Housing Development Marty Fotta shared learnings from a 10+ year community revitalization project in Pennsylvania and how he’s leveraging that experience to support local development in Oklahoma with Housing Forward.

People and Place Impact Conference hosted by: Northside Neighbors Tulsa and Be Well Community Development Corporation.

Congress made it cheaper to build manufactured homes by removing the chassis (permanent steel frame) requirement in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, but financing hasn’t caught up yet.

In an interim study we are participating in next week, we'll be talking about what actions the state legislature should take in order to unlock housing supply through manufactured housing.

Read more in POLITICO’s piece: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/23/congress-made-it-cheaper-to-build-manufactured-homes-theyre-still-expensive-to-buy-01042996

Will Rogers Courts is a publicly-owned housing development built in the 1930s by the WPA program. It is in a neighborhood known as Westwood Exchange, just south of the Oklahoma River and just two miles from downtown Oklahoma City.

We have been focused on many aspects of OKC housing for the better part of a decade, and MAPS 4 includes over $50 million for truly affordable housing. Much of that funding has gone towards projects spearheaded by the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA).

Over the last three years, OCHA has been developing a plan to completely rebuild Will Rogers Courts and significantly improve the entire Westwood Exchange neighborhood. OCHA has had many partners in this effort, including the city government, the Community Action Agency, Lilyfield and Brinshore Development. The total commitment to the plan has exceeded $225 million, and the city has committed over $30 million, coming from sources like MAPS 4 and the 2025 bond issue.

This week, we received the exciting news that the Choice Neighborhoods program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded this project a grant of $25 million! These resources will not only help fund the capital needs of this ambitious project, but will also enable programs supporting the residents.

We expect the first new units to open in 2029.

We congratulate and thank everyone involved in this impactful project, and we thank HUD for their commitment to the people of OKC!

(Aerial photo by Bryan Terry)

Experts in housing finance will be talking about the biggest opportunities and trends impacting housing development at our next event.

🗓️ on Wednesday, 9/23 from 4:30-6:30pm
📍at Nothing’s Left Brewing Co., Tulsa

Navigating Tulsa's Housing Finance Landscape: Drinks & Dialogue Join Tulsa’s resident housing finance experts for a conversation on the housing finance landscape in the Tulsa Metro.