Why Tax Credits Are Important: Nine Stories

As the House and Senate work on their respective versions of tax reform, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) has been highlighting some of our member agencies’ affordable housing and community redevelopment projects, both completed and ongoing, that have been made possible by 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), Private Activity Bonds (PABs) and/or New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs). This is a collection of their stories.

The 4 Percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit

The LIHTC is one of the most effective tools for creating new and critically needed affordable housing, and accounts for the vast majority of all affordable rental housing created in the United States. Housing authorities often use a combination of 4 percent LIHTCs and PABs to repair, renovate and revitalize existing affordable housing.

Examples of 4 percent LIHTC projects include:

• The Walla Walla Housing Authority’s revitalization and preservation of the 84-unit Emerald Family Properties;
• The Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC) $33.1 million rehabilitation of 705 units at Lonsdale Homes, North Ridge Crossing and The Vista at Summit Hill;
• The New York City Housing Authority’s renovation and upgrading of the 24-building, 1,395-unit Ocean Bay (Bayside) Apartments in Far Rockaway, Queens;
• The rehabilitation and modernization of the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County’s Freetown Village, a 154-apartment public housing property;
• The Housing Authority of the City of Austin’s (HACA’s) improvement of its public housing stock through HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD); and
• The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s (HACSB’s) Sycamore Gardens.

New Markets Tax Credits

NMTCs help localities build stronger neighborhoods by investing in housing, schools, and other vital projects that are targeted at helping low-income communities. Between 2003 and 2015, $42 billion in direct NMTC authority has generated almost $80 billion in capital for local businesses and revitalization projects. NMTC investment has resulted in the creation or retention of over 750,000 jobs, and the financing of over 178 million square feet of commercial real estate and almost 14,000 affordable housing units. NMTCs are a proven and effective tool for generating private-sector investments in communities in need.

Examples of successful NMTC projects include:

• Hampton Roads Ventures, a community development entity that attracts private-sector capital to economic community developments in emerging domestic areas, including lower-income urban and rural communities;
• The East St. Louis Housing Authority’s Jazz @ Walter Circle, a 100,000 sq. ft. hi-tech senior facility with more than 70 senior living units; and
• The District of Columbia Housing Authority’s Canal Park, an eco-friendly and art-filled community park in Capitol Quarter, a new 323-townhome neighborhood that was being redeveloped as a part of DCHA’s HOPE VI project.

More details on these NMTC projects are available on the NAHRO Blog.

For more information, please contact Sylvia Gimenez.

About NAHRO

NAHRO, established in 1933, is a membership organization of nearly 20,000 housing and community development agencies and professionals throughout the United States whose mission is to create affordable housing and safe, viable communities that enhance the quality of life for all Americans, especially those of low- and moderate-income. NAHRO’s members own or administer more than 2.7 million units of housing and provide housing for more than 7.9 million low-income people.