Blueprint for January
Don’t Drop the Ball in 2023
By Jessica Hoefer
3 min read
Nashville is a treat for the senses. The lights, the sounds, the smells. After spending a week in Nashville—for the Tennessee Developers Council Symposium and National Council of Housing Market Analysts Annual Meeting—I found walking down Broadway reminiscent of a smaller southernesque Times Square with the musical cacophony of Bourbon St. à la New Year’s Eve.
While there, I heard mention of Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency PILOT Program, which you will read more about in both Industry Insights and our cover story, Cities and States Step Up in 2022 to Bolster Affordable Housing Stock. The PILOT Program provides significant property tax relief and comes from the need for programs to help make affordable housing feasible and viable long term. Though Nashville is a microcosm, it represents the larger need we are facing in the United States.
Our cover story provides an encouraging look at the progress being made as states recognize the problem and take action. “Cities and states throughout the nation launched a trove of innovative initiatives in 2022 to encourage the development of affordable housing,” writes Pamela Martineau. “From matching Low Income Housing Tax Credits to unique approaches to workforce housing, local governments are pushing forward to help developers bolster the nation’s affordable housing stock.” One such example can be seen in Case Study: Stone Bridge Lofts in Goodlettsville, TN.
Further reassurance comes in Finding Purpose, as Nushin Huq writes, “The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program…has allowed developers to not only preserve historic buildings across the country but breathe new life into buildings and give them purpose. Instead of being demolished or becoming a source of blight, historic buildings have been transformed into commercial and residential buildings. Over the last decade, an increasing percentage of those projects are conversions into affordable housing.”
And if that is not enough to bolster your spirits be sure to read Breaking Ground where we hear directly from Emily Cadik, CEO, of Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition on her top LIHTC priorities in 2023, forthcoming changes to the Community Reinvestment Act and her approaches to advocacy.
In Housing Needs Assessments, we look at what a Housing Needs Assessment is and who typically commissions them. From stakeholders to developers, local government entities to lenders and tenant advocacy organizations, these in-depth studies “have one goal: to inform local housing strategies and bolster the success of resulting projects.”
And before I forget, we are excited to announce a new monthly column, Legally Speaking, which will be written by a different lawyer each month and will provide technical analyses and practical advice. (Anyone interested in contributing can contact me at [email protected].)
So, as we begin 2023 with hope and conviction continuing to fuel our New Year’s resolutions, let’s add one more to the list, commitment. Commitment to advocating for programs. And commitment to implementing as many new initiatives as we can over the course of the year. Don’t drop the ball on this New Year’s resolution.
Regards,
Jessica Hoefer
Editor-in-Chief
