Victory House of Palmer Park Selected for 2007 Commitment to Excellence Award

UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Victory House of Palmer Park, a 69-unit apartment community for low-income, independent seniors, has been selected for the 2007 Commitment to Excellence Awards in the Aging in Place category.

“I would like to thank all the partners that helped made Victory House and the revitalized Palmer Park Village Center possible because it truly is a success story for our seniors and for Prince George’s County as a whole,” said Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson.

Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown, along with Raymond Skinner, secretary, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, will present the Excellence Award to John D. Spencer, Vice President & COO of Victory Housing and Tommie Thompson, executive director, Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority at the Governor’s Annual Housing Conference during the Commitment of Excellence Luncheon.

Victory House of Palmer Park was made possible by a public/private partnership among government agencies and the private sector, providing the following resources: as in-kind contribution of the building site by the Redevelopment Authority of Prince George’s County; a $6 million capital advance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); a HOME loan of $200,000 from the Prince Georg’s County Department of Housing and Community Development; a $125,000 grant from the State of Maryland Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $150,000 from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Seniors living in the facility pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent and have access to a library, great-room, lounge, computer room, and a barber /beauty shop.

Under the Redevelopment Authority, the Palmer Park Village Center is an $8.4 million mixed-use development project completed in two phases.  The first phase, Victory House, opened in 2005.  The second phase was the renovation of 26,000 square feet of retail, office and community-service space, which was completed in 2006.

The county acquired the shopping center in 1978 and the redevelopment process began in 1999.  The property is 5.45 acres, with room for 374 parking spaces and is zoned for commercial shopping.