Mark Olshaker • 10 min read
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, both the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)order, imposed moratoriums on eviction from rental housing under most circumstances, at least until December 31, 2020. CDC’s guidance specifically states that preventing evictions “can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of [Covid-19],” and that “housing stability helps protect public health because homelessness increases the likelihood of individuals moving into congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, which then puts individuals at higher risk [of] Covid-19.”
Kaitlyn Snyder • 7 min read
Originally authorized by Congress as a part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, authorization for the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) once again runs out at the end of 2020. The program was initially authorized for five years and has been kept alive by several short-term renewals, which speaks more to Congress’s desire and ability to get anything done than it does to the effectiveness of the program. As we celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary and stare down the barrel of yet another nerve-wracking, year-end reauthorization, we thought it timely to examine the program through both retro- and prospective lenses.
Darryl Hicks • 12 min read
Gregory Minott is an awarding-winning architect and co-founder of DREAM Collaborative, a black-owned design firm in the Boston metro area.
Scott Beyer • 4 min read
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to the entire economy, particularly to real estate genres that were already in a tenuous situation. New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) cover a broad array of these asset classes, so one might think the credits, which are issued by the Department of the Treasury and meant to revive distressed areas, will be impacted. Whether or not that happens was the topic at a recent NH&RA panel discussion.
Scott Beyer • 6 min read
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) can be used for a variety of real estate types. They benefit developers building everything from grocery stores to clinics to manufacturing facilities, in areas deemed underserved. They’re bought by financial institutions, who become eligible for a five to six percent tax credit across a seven-year span. They’re syndicated through community development entities (CDEs), which can be either for-profit, nonprofit, or government-run. However, housing developers have somewhat restricted access to this financing tool. While NMTC has been used to build many a mixed-use residential project, the program can be inflexible, particularly regarding the “80/20 rule.”
Mark Olshaker • 13 min read
“If you’re going through hell, keep going,” Winston Churchill is reputed to have advised during the early days of World War II. This advice is equally relevant for the current Covid-19 pandemic as it affects owners, staff and residents of affordable housing buildings and complexes, especially those dedicated to senior living, and truly, the entire population.
Thom Amdur • 5 min read
With the conclusion of the 2020 elections, Washington is once again embracing a season of change which includes the transition process from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration as well as from the 116th to the 117th Congress.
Thom Amdur • 4 min read
Last month, NH&RA hosted an inspired town hall focused on health and sustainability in affordable housing. The panel theme was inspired by a conversation I had with Krista Egger, vice president of National Initiatives at Enterprise Community Partners. Krista had recently updated me on the latest iteration of Enterprise’s Green Communities (EGC) Standard, which is the “gold standard” for affordable housing green building standards. I was intrigued and excited by the new ways the EGC update incorporates resident health into its design strategy.
Mark Fogarty • 5 min read
While the COVID-19 pandemic has hit senior housing so recently that post-COVID design has yet to fully materialize, what seems likely is that new congregate living projects will be more compartmentalized to cordon off seniors and their families and visitors in the public and semi-public areas of their residences.
Jerome A. Breed & Corenia Burlingame • 7 min read
Late this summer, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai’i granted a motion for summary judgment in Michael Tuttle, et al. vs. Front Street Affordable Housing Partners, et al., No. 18-00218 JAO-KJM, 2020 BL 305979, 2020 U.S. Dist Lexis 145071 (D. Haw. Aug. 12, 2020), a case brought by prospective low-income tenants seeking to reinstate an extended use agreement, which was released by the state agency at the end of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit compliance period following an owner’s request for a qualified contract. While a federal district court decision has limited precedential value, the decision is instructive for state allocating agencies, practitioners and LIHTC transaction participants, given the scarcity of cases involving qualified contracts since the enactment of Section 42(h)(6)(E)(i)(II).
Mark Olshaker • 15 min read
This is the outlook presented by the latest edition of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies report, entitled, Housing America’s Older Adults 2019. And it represents one of the greatest challenges facing the entire affordable housing enterprise. The first question, then, in any discussion of senior housing and services is: Are we meeting the demand?
Scott Beyer • 6 min read
2020 has been a brutal year for urban America. New York City, since bearing the brunt of the early COVID-19 impacts, has suffered steep drops in business activity.