General News

U.S. Representatives Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced legislation to make permanent the temporary minimum credit rate for the low-income housing tax credit program (LIHTC). The bill proposes to set the minimum LITHC rate for new construction at 9% and set it at 4% for existing properties.

A new online resource will provide housing industry participants practical information on building and improving housing that serves broader community needs, such as public health, economic development, and education. How Housing Matters is a product of collaboration between the Urban Land Institute and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Representatives from more than 100 of the nation’s top affordable housing organizations gathered at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, FL, last week for the 2015 NH&RA Annual Meeting. The event’s panel sessions created dialogues on what’s challenging – and exciting – affordable housing developers, illuminated the products and people who will shape the tax credit transactions in upcoming year, offered options to properties approaching year 15, and surveyed key changes to tax credit programs and legislation.

HUD recently published a notice in the Federal Register to announce the fiscal year (FY) 2015 Annual Adjustment Factors (AAFs).

Representatives Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Richard Neal (D-MA) and Tom Reed (R-NY) introduced a bill to permanently extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program.

HUD recently released an interim rule to govern the implementation of the Housing Trust Fund, including establishing the regulations that will govern the funds and the formula that will determine how funds are distributed.

Boston Capital is investing in the rehabilitation of San Diego Square, a 156-unit development for seniors located in downtown San Diego, CA. The development will be rehabilitated with tax credit equity from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Boston Capital’s investment in the development adds 156 units of affordable housing to its apartment portfolio. To date, Boston Capital has invested in more than 13,200 units of affordable housing in California.

President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge welcomed six new multifamily housing authority and owners. AHEAD, Inc (Littleton, NH), Gragg Cardona Partners (Washington, DC), Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (Birmingham, AL), Newark Housing Authority (Newark, NJ), The DeBruler Co. (Libertyville, IL), and Windsor Locks Housing Authority (Windsor Locks, CT) all announced they are joining the Challenge.

U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and California Governor Jerry Brown announced a plan to expand financing for energy efficiency and solar energy in multifamily housing. Their plan includes unlocking property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing for multifamily housing in California, establishing the California Master-Metered Multifamily Finance Pilot Project, and engaging philanthropy and the financial sector in supporting renewable energy in affordable housing.

Owners of Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties in Colorado now have the option of basing utility allowances on energy, water, and sewage consumption.

R4 Capital, a national affordable housing tax-credit syndicator and asset manager, raised $447 million and closed on $386 million of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity and added 32 properties to its portfolio in 2014.

HUD recently announced the FY 2014 Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant awardees. HUD is awarding $3.2 million in Choice Neighborhood Planning Grants.