Submitted by Peabody Properties
Elizabeth Collins
Elizabeth (Betsy) Collins is vice president of development at Peabody Properties, a full-service real estate firm managing more than 13,000 housing units, primarily in New England.
Since joining Peabody Properties 15 years ago, Betsy has been responsible for the successful development or repositioning of more than $550 million of completed affordable housing projects including construction of new communities, adaptive reuse of historic buildings into housing, and repositioning and refinancing existing affordable housing.
Through Betsy’s efforts, Peabody Properties has successfully partnered with federal government agencies including HUD and the VA, state agencies, housing authorities, local municipalities, and for-profit and not-for-profit companies to complete numerous complex housing and mixed-use developments.
Under her direction, the company developed an innovative, award-winning model for permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans, providing approximately 225 apartment homes in five communities in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The communities were the first in the country to utilize project-based rental assistance and onsite case management subsidy to create a “housing first” model, which provides permanent housing and living stability for the veteran first. This better positions them to participate in supportive services that address issues related to homelessness, rather than have a veteran participate in treatment/services and then move into a long-term apartment.
Betsy has over 35 years of experience in this field, and has served on the boards of several national housing organizations. She is a graduate of Simmons College, where she studied finance and economics. She is a pioneer in affordable housing, and veteran housing in particular.
