The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville (HACA) today announced a significant organizational restructuring designed to strengthen the agency’s long-term financial sustainability, improve housing operations, and focus more resources on its core mission of providing affordable housing.

HACA currently employs 112 employees and 27 resident stipend workers. As the restructuring is implemented through the end of 2027, the agency expects its full-time workforce to decrease to less than 50 positions, with the final staffing level determined through ongoing evaluations of operational needs. The resident stipend worker program, which provides limited part-time employment opportunities for residents living in HACA communities, will continue unchanged.

Under the new operating model, HACA will retain employees with the specialized expertise needed to oversee affordable housing operations, compliance, development, and long-term asset management for its portfolio of approximately 1,525 housing units. The agency will also leverage strategic partnerships and contracted professionals to provide services in specialized areas such as human resources, communications, maintenance, and inspections.

Agency leaders say the staffing model is consistent with approaches used by many housing authorities nationwide. As an example of staffing levels at similar organizations, The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso in El Paso, Texas manages approximately 15,000 housing units with 64 employees. 

This approach reflects a broader shift within the affordable housing industry. For decades, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has encouraged housing authorities to explore alternative management models and strategic partnerships to improve efficiency, strengthen accountability, and preserve affordable housing assets.

That trend accelerated with the introduction of HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which gave housing authorities greater flexibility to preserve and improve aging housing communities while maintaining long-term affordability and resident protections. As agencies across the country implemented RAD, many adopted partnership-based operating models that rely on specialized outsourced expertise for functions such as property management, maintenance, inspections, and compliance. 

While HACA converted its housing communities through RAD more than a decade ago, agency leaders say the restructuring announced today represents an important step toward aligning its operations with practices that have become common among many high-performing housing authorities around the country.

“Across the country, housing authorities are rethinking how they operate to better meet the needs of residents,” said Ella Santos, Chief Executive Officer of HACA. “Our responsibility is to ensure that services are delivered effectively, efficiently, and with accountability. By partnering with experts in specialized areas, we can focus more of our resources on housing quality, asset preservation, and resident success while positioning HACA for long-term sustainability. Ultimately, this approach allows us to remain focused on our core mission of providing safe, quality, affordable housing and expanding opportunities for Asheville families.”

Building a More Sustainable Organization

Since joining HACA in 2025, Santos and Chief Operating Officer Marvin Jean Jacques have conducted a comprehensive review of the agency’s operations, finances, and long-term strategic priorities. 

That review revealed an unsustainable financial trajectory: over the previous two years, HACA had drawn down approximately 75% of its reserves. In evaluating how to address those challenges, agency leaders concluded that HACA can best serve residents by focusing directly on providing more affordable housing while partnering with specialized providers to deliver certain other services more efficiently.

The restructuring reflects that shift and builds on actions implemented earlier this year. In April, HACA carried out a reduction in force affecting 34 employees and transitioned its afterschool and summer programs to community partners. Those changes have allowed the agency to focus more directly on its core housing mission while ensuring resident families continue to have access to programming through community-based providers.

Once fully implemented, the April workforce reduction and the restructuring announced this week are expected to generate annual savings equal to approximately 2% of HACA’s $55 million budget, helping restore cash reserves to 2023 levels.

“We have a responsibility to be good stewards of public resources,” Santos said. “Every dollar we spend should help us provide better housing, serve more families, and strengthen the long-term future of this organization.”

A National Shift in Affordable Housing

Similar changes are taking place at housing authorities around the country. In response to rising costs, aging housing stock, and growing expectations around performance and accountability, many agencies are adopting partnership-based operating models and focusing more directly on their core housing missions.

As examples, in Charlotte, the city’s housing authority, now known as INLIVIAN, has embraced a model centered on public-private partnerships, mixed-income developments, and alternative funding sources to preserve and expand affordable housing opportunities. In Sanford, the housing authority has transitioned to third-party maintenance services to improve efficiency, strengthen compliance, and enhance housing operations.

Such changes are occurring alongside evolving federal expectations for housing authority performance. Housing authorities are increasingly expected to maintain quality housing, strengthen operations, and demonstrate responsible stewardship of public resources. Those expectations are increasingly tied to measurable performance standards, and agencies that consistently fall short may face additional oversight or intervention.

Earlier this year, for example, HUD assumed control of the Metropolitan Housing Alliance in Little Rock, Arkansas, after determining the agency failed to meet occupancy benchmarks and other requirements established under a federally mandated recovery agreement.

HACA leaders say these trends underscore the importance of building a housing authority that is financially sustainable, operationally efficient, and positioned for long-term success.

“Across the country, housing authorities are facing higher expectations around performance, accountability, and financial sustainability,” Santos said. “Our goal is to be proactive rather than reactive. We want to build an organization that is prepared for the future, focused on its mission, and capable of serving Asheville residents for decades to come.”