Federal tax credits and other financing awarded last week will build $403.6 million of affordable apartments in 25 North Carolina counties. The work is expected to support 6,600 jobs and generate more than $19.5 million in total tax revenue.
Tax credits and bonds were approved for 43 projects by the North Carolina Federal Tax Reform Allocation Committee, based on recommendations from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, from 146 applications that were received.
“These high-quality apartments will provide excellent homes for working families and seniors,” said Scott Farmer, executive director of the NC Housing Finance Agency. “The developments will improve their communities and support thousands of jobs to boost local economies.”
The funding will produce 3,093 privately owned, privately managed affordable apartments. A total of 2,660 apartments will be designated for families, and 433 will provide homes for seniors. At least 309 of the apartments will be targeted for persons with disabilities. [A list of housing developments by county is attached.] The new awards will bring the number of Housing Credit apartments in the state to more than 81,000.
In addition to the federal tax credits, 28 of the properties will receive $20 million in loans from the Workforce Housing Loan Program, created by the General Assembly in 2014 to encourage development in low-income counties and reduce rents in moderate- and high-income counties. Awards range from $250,000 to $1.5 million. These properties will be located in 23 counties.
Agency loans totaling $13.6 million were also awarded to 17 of the projects by the NC Housing Finance Agency’s board of directors. Together, the additional resources make it economically feasible to build new apartments in lower-wealth counties and to reduce rents in urban counties.
All of the apartments are affordable for households earning 60 percent of a county’s median income, and many are affordable at 50 percent or 40 percent of median as the result of the additional financing. The state’s Key Program provides operating assistance to make apartments affordable for persons with disabilities living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is currently $735 a month for individuals or $1,103 per month for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse.
The NC Housing Finance Agency evaluates the tax credit applications on behalf of the NC Federal Tax Reform Allocation Committee. The highly competitive application process uses a quantitative ranking system and includes independent market studies of each property and site visits by agency staff. Each property is rated for architectural design, rent affordability, financial stability, capability of the development team, and criteria to ensure statewide distribution of the financing.
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, a self-supporting public agency, has financed more than 255,000 affordable homes and apartments statewide since its creation in 1973.
