Articles Archives

Decarbonizing the Nation’s Buildings

3 min read

Since early 2023, ICAST’s articles have covered the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and their potential impacts on multifamily affordable housing.

Electrification Upgrades

A New Generation of Heat Pump Systems Increases Efficiency

3 min read

More and more states have regulations and mandates requiring multifamily affordable housing properties to decarbonize (i.e., replace the use of natural gas, oil or propane with electricity).

Zoning Regulation in America

7 min read

In theory, building codes, zoning and urban planning make up the engine that drives municipal growth. Born from progressive-minded responses to early 20th-century public health crises, the first wave of these defined zoning codes was passed starting around 1908.

Standardized Design

8 min read

Decades ago, people often equated standardized design in affordable housing with cookie-cutter, identical buildings and individual units with the same layouts and color schemes.

Developers Empowering Resident Voices

10 min read

Many American adults, about 60 percent, have experienced trauma, but the practice of considering the effects of trauma on affordable housing residents and staff is relatively recent.

Strong, Resilient and Economically Diverse

8 min read

Today’s cities generally emphasize cohesion and citywide vibrancy, and many municipalities are focused on the creation of mixed-income communities.

Multifamily Properties are Going Electric

3 min read

As demand for electric vehicles (EVs) intensifies, multifamily owners and operators are increasingly forced to explore their EV charging options.

Income Averaging

8 min read

Income averaging allows affordable housing developers to expand the range of people on the income strata who are eligible to live in affordable communities, while also helping projects pencil out.

Build America, Buy America

7 min read

As federal regulators continue to release implementation guidelines for the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA), the new law aimed to increase domestic manufacturing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced its decision to phase implementation of the requirements.

Property Operations Technology and its Unique Benefits for Affordable Housing  

9 min read

For at least the last decade, managers of market-rate multifamily units have widely incorporated technology into their properties.

Managing the Pipeline

9 min read

Juggling multiple projects in the pipeline in various stages of development can feel like lining up squares on a Rubik’s Cube to employees of development and construction firms.

Leveraging Federal, State and Utility Incentives to Fund Solar

4 min read

With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the business case for solar-for-multifamily affordable housing is the best it’s ever been.

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