As part of Dezeen's Social Housing Revival series, we look at how one county in Maryland is leading the way in the US after devising a novel public-development strategy to help combat its housing crisis.

Montgomery is a growing county on the outskirts of the Washington DC metropolitan area that has come up with a method for addressing the diminished role of social housing in America.

Like much of the rest of the country, it is in dire need of more affordable housing.

While an absence of central government funding means public-sector-led house-building to meet that need is a rarity in the US, Montgomery's county government has conceived a way to deliver high-quality homes on its own.

Maryland's Montgomery County has completed the first building created under a novel scheme to fund public housing

Its Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), an agency founded in the 1970s to deliver federally funded public housing, has recently developed a strategy that it calls the public developer model.

In 2021, it established the Housing Production Fund (HPF) to fund mixed-income social housing.

Its first completed project using the model is The Laureate, a 268-home scheme designed by US architecture studio KTGY that features thousands of square feet of amenities and even has an outdoor heated pool and spa.

"We believe this should be the standard"

"HOC is proud that when you walk into The Laureate you experience a high-quality, high-calibre, and beautifully designed community that offers a resort-like living experience," HOC executive director Chelsea Andrews told Dezeen.

"We are equally proud that if you're standing in an affordable home or one that rents at market rate, the two are completely indistinguishable."

"We believe this should be the standard for all new affordable housing development."

The first HPF project is an apartment complex called The Laureate

In most parts of the US, cities use tax breaks to encourage developers to deliver mixed-income housing.

The HOC takes a more direct approach, using federal subsidies to accommodate the poorest groups while taking out loans to fund other HOC projects.

Building federally subsidised housing often requires the involvement of private investors to fund the full cost of construction – which can mean build quality is compromised to protect profit margins.

By acting as a public developer and delivering housing for people on a range of incomes, the Montgomery County hopes HOC can build better housing and break down stigmas attached to social housing.

The model also allows the county to create housing for people in need of affordable housing but who do not qualify for Section 8 housing vouchers.

The buildings are managed by the HOC, which closely monitors the residents' incomes. Rents from people in higher income brackets help to contribute to poorer tenants' costs.