Building 44

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As head of New York City's housing agency, Donovan, who is trained as an architect, helps lead what has been called the nation's largest affordable-housing plan, which aims to build or preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2013. The effort recently reached its halfway point on time, with financing for more than 82,500 units in place.

He also has led efforts to provide legal and credit assistance and financial education to home buyers seen as being most prone to predatory lending. Most recently, he has worked as an Obama campaign adviser, after taking a leave of absence from his job in the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I).

Bloomberg hailed the choice, saying that Obama "made the best choice he possibly could for HUD and for the country." He added that Donovan "has left an imprint on our city that will last and that many others will be able to continue to build on."

Donovan's colleagues and mentors consider the New York native an expert in complex financing deals to create affordable housing -- a critical skill after the federal government began retreating from the business of building low-income housing in the 1980s.

"Shaun Donovan is a brilliant choice for HUD. He is an expert on the full range of housing issues and has a proven track record of getting things done," said Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "And he enjoys high regard across the spectrum of housing interests, from low-income housing and homeless advocates, public officials, developers and financiers alike."

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the subcommittee that controls HUD appropriations, applauded Donovan's selection. "With foreclosures skyrocketing, affordable housing options increasingly scarce and the dream of homeownership at risk for working families, we need real leadership at our nation's housing agency," she said. "Thankfully, President-elect Obama has chosen a HUD secretary that is uniquely qualified to take on this task."

In a 2006 interview about his creation of a novel $200 million housing production fund with private financial institutions, Donovan said he wanted to harness the power of the private sector when he could for deals that helped protect affordable housing.

"I would never believe that the private sector, left to its own devices, is the best possible solution," Donovan said then. "I'm in government because of the role of government in setting rules and working in partnership with the private sector. On the other hand, there's no way you could ever get to a scale that can really affect the housing problems in this country without working with the market."

Critics of Donovan's tenure said the Bloomberg housing policies were often focused on sophisticated private financing to build low-cost units but did not aggressively work to slow the cumulative loss of older affordable properties in the city or to strengthen rent control and other regulations to protect tenants.

Another contender for the HUD post, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr., is slated to lead the new White House Office of Urban Policy, sources familiar with the appointment said last night. Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett told black columnists last month that the office would better coordinate federal efforts to help America's cities, and she called the head of the office "really a critical position."

Carrión made headlines last week for reportedly telling two groups in New Haven, Conn., that he was in line to head a Cabinet department.

Staff writer Chris Cillizza contributed to this report.