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AREA is part of a team, also including TAG Associates, Inc., that is serving as the financial advisor to the Cincinnati Housing Authority for its Laurel Homes HOPE VI  development. The firms review all development plans and negotiate with the private developer to ensure the project's short- and long-term viability and protect the interests of the Authority.
In addition to residential development, a key component of the HOPE VI project is planned commercial development along Linn Street. AREA is helping the Authority and the development team to assess retail and other commercial development opportunities in the area and to prepare a development strategy.
Market and Strategic Analysis of the Near North Redevelopment Study Area – Decatur, Illinois
AREA worked on a team to assist the City of Decatur in preparing a redevelopment strategy for the city's Near North Side, including the planned Longview Place HOPE VI development area.
The strategy included plans for encouraging residential, commercial, and industrial revitalization and new development as well as for meeting the city's educational and social service objectives.
AREA's role in the assignment was to assess market demand and development opportunities for affordable and market-rate housing and to recommend financing mechanisms that would attract private capital and facilitate housing development.
Samuel Madden Homes HOPE VI Redevelopment Market Analysis – Alexandria, Virginia
AREA was retained by TAG Associates to conduct a detailed market analysis for the redevelopment of the Samuel Madden Homes, a public housing development located in the City of Alexandria's Old Town neighborhood.
This project involved many complex issues—in particular, a very strong housing market both citywide and in the vicinity of the site.
AREA's role was to determine right mix of income and units to meet federal funding guidelines, while still satisfying community demands and ensuring financial feasibility for the short- and long-term.
Potential Absorption of HOPE VI, Mixed-Income Developments – Chicago, Illinois
The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) engaged AREA and The Laubacher Company to conduct research and prepare market study reports to support three CHA objectives:
(1) Determine whether the Chicago housing market can support the additional volume, income mix, and price of for-sale  housing proposed for CHA HOPE VI redevelopment projects.
(2) Develop a framework that the CHA can use in evaluating developers' cost proposals and in preparing a request to HUD for waiver of total development cost (TDC) limits.
(3) Develop documentation on acquisition prices for developments in selected neighborhoods (particularly those in the vicinity of existing HOPE VI developments), for use in requesting TDC-limit waivers for market-rate acquisitions.
Public Housing Viability Assessments – Nationwide
Working with various teams, AREA has conducted market analyses for the  Section 202 viability assessments required by HUD for large, distressed public housing complexes across the nation.
AREA examines each market to determine whether the neighborhood around the public housing is a viable setting for residential redevelopment; whether renovated public housing could attract working households earning 30%-50% of the region's median household income; and whether public housing residents could find alternative accommodations in the community if they were given Section 8 certificates.
Other selected analyses:
- Potential for broadening the income mix in two of Detroit Housing Commission's public housing developments—one near a racially and ethnically mixed area and the other in a deteriorated neighborhood.
- Market assessments and financial strategies for mixed-income communities using HOPE VI funds to leverage other public and private financing in Charleston, West Virginia; Chicago, Illinois; and Michigan City and Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Assistance to Philadelphia's Office of Housing and Community Development to determine the potential for management of selected public housing sites by entities other than the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
- Assistance to the Chicago Housing Authority in the administration of the Section 8 program, including conducting market surveys for rent reasonableness analysis and working with the building owners and managers to encourage participation in the Section 8 program.
- Neighborhood and market conditions affecting the potential viability of Chicago Housing Authority developments. Findings were input to a comprehensive plan for modernization.
- HOPE VI Revitalization Plan for a 599-unit apartment complex in Springfield, Illinois. The analysis includes the site's potential for mixed-income housing and nonresidential uses, and home-ownership potential for public-housing-eligible households.
- Market analysis and development strategy for the final phase of Guinotte Manor, a HOPE VI development in Kansas City, Missouri. The study focused on density, product types, price ranges, and coordination with the residential redevelopment of adjacent parcels currently in industrial use.
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