The Georgia Department of Community Affairs recently issued a preliminary implementation plan that it will use for allocating housing resources provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). DCA has identified a set of policy objectives that it will use as it further develops its ARRA implementation plan. These include, among others:

  • Continued participation by syndicators — DCA will give priority to projects with syndicator participation;
  • Maintaining competitive pricing — DCA will consider pricing from similar projects, as well as the $.85 standard established by the ARRA exchange provision, when evaluating tax credit pricing;
  • Reasonable construction costs — DCA will require for all projects a third-party review of projected construction costs;
  • Design modifications — DCA may require certain design modifications to reduce utility costs, increase energy efficiency and/or improve project feasibility;
  • Compliance training — all applicants will be required to take DCA’s federal compliance training prior to the commencement of construction;
  • Updated market study — projects that have previously received a tax credit allocation will be required to include an update to the original DCA market study with their application for ARRA funds;
  • Financial feasibility — DCA will determine ARRA funding and financing structures through a more sustainable underwriting model.

Public comments will be accepted by DCA on April 15. read more…