Local Developer Named to Binational Commission

NOVI, MI-Bernard Glieberman, president and chief executive officer of Crosswinds Communities, was recently appointed to serve on the newly formed U.S.-Israel Binational Commission on Housing and Community Development.Hes one of 20 U.S. residents named to the board by President Clinton through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Novi-based Crosswinds Communities, Inc. is the one of the largest builders of multifamily and single-family houses in Michigan. Its commercial arm, Crosswinds Commercial Inc., develops office, industrial, retail and mixed-use projects throughout the U.S.

During a trip to the Middle East in June, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo joined then Israeli Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Levy to sign a historic joint agreement to create the commission, the first-ever formal housing agreement between the United States and Israel.These new Commission members represent some of the best thinking on housing and economic development in America, Cuomo said.

The commission is tasked with developing new ideas and projects to benefit both countries by:

* expanding the supply of affordable housing,

* helping increase home ownership opportunities,

* creating jobs and helping businesses to expand as part of an effort to revitalize communities, and

* making improvements in construction technology and architecture to allow housing to be built at a higher quality and lower cost.