John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Treasury have awarded Colorado Housing and Finance Authority a total of $45.1 million in stimulus funds.
CHFA estimates the funding will help finance the construction of 1,800 affordable rental units and create nearly 750 new jobs.
The funds are part of the Tax Credit Assistance Program(TCAP) and Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCEP) , both established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to ensure housing for the nation’s lowest income residents.
CHFA will award the funds in the form of loans or grants to eligible affordable housing developers beginning in August. A complete list of eligible projects, program eligibility requirements, and application forms may be downloaded at www.chfainfo.com.
CHFA will triage developments requesting assistance to ensure the projects most prepared to move forward immediately are able to secure their assistance as soon as practical.
According to the program’s guidelines, CHFA must award 75 percent of the TCAP funds by Feb. 2010, and 100 percent of the TCEP funds by Dec. 2010.
Both programs were designed to assist developers participating in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which has been negatively impacted from the overall economic decline.
Originally created by Congress in 1986, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program is considered one of the most successful affordable housing programs in the country, generating equity to support nearly 1.7 million affordable rental housing units nationwide and almost 37,000 units in Colo.
The average in-state Low Income Housing Tax Credit development serves households earning 33 percent Area Median Income , which for a family of four equates to approximately $21,540 annually in the Denver metro area, or $16,500 annually in western Colorado.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program has struggled over the past two years, as fewer investors are in need of tax credits to mitigate federal tax liabilities and developers who were expecting to earn $0.85 cents for each $1 tax credit sold are now earning $0.70 or less.
“The sharp decline in equity pricing has created significant gaps for developers recently awarded the credits; putting completion of their housing projects at risk,” said Jamie Gomez, CHFA Director of Commercial Lending. ” Funding from the stimulus bill is intended to restore financial feasibility to these projects resulting in much needed housing for the state’s residents, along with creating new jobs generated from the construction and management of the units.”
For more information about the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP), Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCEP), or the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program:t www.chfainfo.com or call CHFA’s Denver office at 1-800-877-2432, ext. 429. For the West Slope: 970-241-2341.
