Mark Mayfield: An authority on affordable housing for almost 40 years
In June 2021, Mark Mayfield stood on a slab in Marble Falls where the Texas Housing Foundation built 60 rental units he called 'workforce housing.' A percentage of those units, which are now complete and rented, were set aside for senior citizens. ‘I’m really proud of what happened with that property,’ he said. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
Mark Mayfield stepped down as the chief executive officer of the Texas Housing Foundation on June 20 after 37 years of working on affordable housing issues in Texas.
“It’s the only job I’ve ever had,” he said of his commitment to housing needs.
It was the Marble Falls Housing Authority when Mayfield came on board on June 10, 1987.
“I grew a heart for what I was doing and, just over the course of time, began to address housing issues through my years of service on the Marble Falls City Council in the 1990s,” he said. “I started looking at how we deliver community services, how things fell through the cracks.”
From there, the Community Resource Center in Marble Falls was created. The organization now has offices in four counties: Burnet, Blanco, Llano, and Williamson.
The CRC is funded through the Texas Housing Foundation and provides resources and referrals to people in need, including groceries, gas money, and classes on how to manage money, cook healthy, and apply for jobs. The Helping Center food pantry is a growing part of the CRC. Both are located at 1016 Broadway in Marble Falls, the home office.
“We have properties all across the state now,” Mayfield said of the Texas Housing Foundation. “And it was all done through public-private partnerships: private capital investing in public good. That’s what it’s all about.”
The synergetic partnership between the THF and the CRC might be up for reassessment in Mayfield’s absence, one of the reasons he decided now is the time to go, he told DailyTrib.com.
“I think the direction I would like to take THF in is in conflict with the (foundation’s) Board of Commissioners,” he said. “It just seemed to work to where this is the right time to go.”
Mayfield’s goal has been to expand the Community Resource Centers, including putting an office in Kingsland.
“There’s been some hesitancy to do that,” he said.
The CRC announced in 2022 plans to renovate and move into Calvary Hill Church in Kingsland by 2024. Currently, the CRC works three days a week out of the Sharing the Harvest food pantry building at First Baptist Church in Kingsland, 3435 RR 1431 West. Site Coordinator Donna Wheeler is available after 2 p.m. on Mondays and during regular business hours on Thursdays and Fridays.
The CRC also has satellite offices in Granite Shoals and Bertram.
CRC Executive Director Lucy Murphy said she sees no future change for the organization’s vision.
“The resource centers exist in our current vision because of Mark,” she said. “He had a very clear vision for taking the CRC model to other communities and has laid out a path for us to pursue going forward that is very clear in how we serve our communities. We will continue to pursue serving every community we possibly can through the CRC model.”
In retirement, Mayfield plans to continue contributing to the community. The former city councilor is currently a member of the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp.
“I get my motivation from doing those types of things, from serving people,” he said. “In that regard, I think the CRCs speak for themselves. They serve tens of thousands of people without a burden to the taxpayer. I’m very, very proud of that.”