Our Staff

Andrew M. Friedman, Principal & Owner

Andrew Friedman led the City of Virginia Beach Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation for over 28 years and served for six additional years in various positions at the department prior to becoming director. During his tenure the department grew from 28 staff members to approximately 100, and from a budget of several million to over $33 million. His work and accomplishments there include:

  • Expanding affordable housing through the development and/or rehabilitation of over 3,000 affordable housing units with multiple types of support, including financing, vouchers, support letters, etc.

  • Moving hundreds of persons from homelessness to housing annually by providing housing and services, including coordination of the Virginia Beach Continuum of Care and the operation of the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center

  • Leading the effort to design, build and operate the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center, a $25 million "one-stop shop" that provides shelter, housing and services to help make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring in Virginia Beach

  • Ensuring vibrant, well-maintained neighborhoods by operating consolidated city-wide building and property maintenance code enforcement and addressing over 30,000 violations annually

  • Ensuring low- and moderate-income homeowners can maintain their housing as quality and affordable by providing low-cost loans and/or grants  

  • Providing housing stability to over 2,200 households through operation of the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program

  • Developing housing and neighborhood revitalization strategies to guide department and city actions

  • Administering the regional Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program through a contracted provider to support the housing and service needs of people with AIDS or HIV throughout South Hampton Roads

  • Managing and utilizing over $3 million in annual HUD entitlement funds and an additional $10 million in pandemic-related funds

  • Coordinating and partnering with multiple community and stakeholder groups

Our Partners

Housing Forward Virginia is a leading nonprofit housing consulting organization in Virginia, working with multiple localities and the state to conduct research, analysis and develop policies and programs that support affordable housing.