Training California's Housing Builders to Tackle the Affordability Crisis

LOS ANGELES, CA – March 19, 2026 – As California grapples with a persistent and deepening housing crisis, two leading community development organizations are doubling down on a proven strategy: investing in the people who build affordable homes. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), in a strategic partnership with Merritt Community Capital Corporation, has launched its 2026 California Affordable Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI), a program designed to forge the next generation of developers capable of navigating the state’s notoriously complex system.

The announcement comes at a critical time for the Golden State. California faces a shortfall of millions of housing units, with only 18% of households able to afford a median-priced home. The high cost of living is a primary driver of the state’s homelessness crisis, which now accounts for nearly a quarter of the nation's entire homeless population. Against this stark backdrop, the HDTI program represents a targeted investment in the human capital required to turn the tide.

Forging the Next Generation of Housing Developers

First launched in Los Angeles in 1988 to address a need for specialized skills among nonprofit developers, HDTI has become a cornerstone of California's affordable housing sector. The program expanded statewide in 1994 and has since graduated over 600 practitioners from more than 100 organizations. The impact is tangible: alumni from just the last few years are credited with developing over 5,000 units of affordable housing.

The institute’s success lies in its intensive, hands-on curriculum. Far from a series of academic lectures, HDTI employs a rigorous “learn-by-doing” model that requires each participant to advance an actual affordable housing project throughout the program. This provides an invaluable real-world laboratory for mastering the multifaceted development process—from predevelopment and financial structuring to construction management and long-term compliance.

"The acumen required to develop affordable housing is complex and multifaceted," said Nicole Williams, Executive Director of LISC LA, in a statement. "HDTI equips affordable housing developers with the skills, tools, and network to bring more homes to communities in need. By strengthening development capacity, HDTI expands access to safe, quality, and affordable housing across the state."

A Strategic Alliance to Build Capacity

The 2026 program is bolstered by a powerful collaboration between LISC, a national community development financial institution with a $35 billion investment track record, and Merritt Community Capital Corporation, a mission-driven affordable housing funder that has invested over $1.7 billion in California.

Merritt’s role is particularly significant, stemming from its “Commitment to California” (C2C) initiative. Launched in 2022, C2C is a multi-million-dollar effort to attract, train, and retain a diverse pipeline of housing professionals. As part of this commitment, Merritt has provided a substantial grant to expand and strengthen the HDTI program, viewing it as a critical vehicle for building a more effective and equitable housing industry.

This partnership does more than just fund the training; it creates a robust support ecosystem. Graduates leave the program not only with technical proficiency but also with deep connections to a peer network and the state's leading funding and development organizations. This combination of knowledge and networking is crucial for navigating the fragmented and often siloed world of affordable housing finance and development.

Investing in People to Overcome Systemic Hurdles

While steel and concrete build houses, the HDTI model is built on the premise that long-term solutions require investing in people. Developers in California face a gauntlet of obstacles, including sky-high land and construction costs, a persistent shortage of skilled labor, and a labyrinth of regulatory and zoning barriers that can delay or kill projects. Securing the complex patchwork of subsidies and financing needed to make a project pencil out is an art form in itself.

HDTI’s curriculum is explicitly designed to arm practitioners with the tools to overcome these challenges. The program offers end-to-end training that demystifies everything from navigating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to structuring deals with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). By building this expertise within nonprofit organizations, the program directly expands their capacity to take on more ambitious projects and increase the supply of affordable homes.

Furthermore, the partnership emphasizes building a more inclusive sector. Merritt's C2C initiative has a strong focus on developing the next generation of BIPOC leaders, with over half of its participants in 2023 identifying as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. By fostering diversity within the development community, the program aims to ensure that new housing solutions are created with and for the communities that need them most.

Navigating a Shifting Policy Landscape

The work of these developers is set against the backdrop of an evolving state policy landscape. In recent years, Sacramento has passed a flurry of legislation—such as SB 4, which streamlines development on land owned by religious institutions, and SB 423, which fast-tracks approvals for affordable projects—aimed at cutting red tape. This November, voters will decide on a $10 billion bond measure to fund more affordable housing construction.

While these policies create new opportunities, they also add layers of complexity that require sophisticated knowledge to leverage effectively. A trained workforce is essential to translate these legislative wins into actual groundbreakings. Graduates of the HDTI program are uniquely positioned to understand and utilize these new tools, maximizing their impact and ensuring that public and private resources are deployed efficiently.

By cultivating a statewide network of highly skilled, well-connected, and mission-driven professionals, LISC and Merritt are not just running a training program. They are building the essential infrastructure needed to confront California's housing affordability crisis, one project, one policy, and one developer at a time.