Tax Credit Advisor Article Archives

There has been a recent debate, inside and out of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) community, about where affordable housing projects should be built. Following negative press from NPR and ProPublica showing how a majority of units were going into low-income areas, legislators have called for state qualified allocation plan (QAP) adjustments to award credits to developers who build in nicer areas. The thinking is that by placing LIHTC tenants in mid- or high-income areas, they will have better access to good schools, jobs and amenities.

In 1898, New York City hosted the first international conference of urban planners to tackle an urgent global crisis of health, congestion and overcrowding – what to do about the horses?

When Shawn Wilson, president of Blue Sky Communities, attended the recent ribbon cutting for the Clermont Ridge Senior Villas development in Clermont, FL, he saw something that made him think the seniors at the brand new development already felt at home. Many of them had put up wreaths on their front doors.

An ambitious joint venture is planning $2 billion in “middle-income” or workforce housing development in California. And in an unusual aspect of an effort that is targeting both new construction and existing housing, many of these middle-income workers will have units with luxury amenities.

In 2003, 13 of the largest nonprofit affordable housing providers, who today collectively manage 147,500 units, formed the Stewards of Housing for the Future (SAHF) to collaborate on best practices and advocate for change in Washington, DC and across the affordable housing ecosystem.

Autumn is a season of change. While many poets refer to spring as the season of rebirth, I tend to think of the fall more as the marking of a new life cycle. September has always been my favorite month, when the heat and humidity yield to cooler, drier air. It’s generally a much more pleasant time in my view. While spring is nice, it also marks the nearing of oppressive summer heat in the Washington, DC, area where I live.

September is always a busy month in DC, but this year is shaping up to be exceptionally so.

It’s rare that the financial forces of government and industry collide to an extreme degree in any one city neighborhood. As someone who’s traveled much of the U.S., I’ve seen plenty of divestment, even in places that are centrally-located. The area I’m profiling this month used to be somewhat like that, but has seen a flood of public, private and philanthropic capital that may cause it to eventually rival surrounding boomburbs in Northern Virginia.

From flexible work schedules to “stay-on” bonuses and social media blitzes, property management companies and human resources officials are embracing innovative strategies to retain and hire employees at residential properties in the quirky, tight, pandemic labor market of 2021.

The United States, thanks to a combo of Coronavirus lockdowns, supply chain issues, tariffs and a rise in inflation, is seeing a spike in home material prices.

Never in my professional experience has a government defendant so cavalierly offered up a gratuitous admission against interest as did President Biden the day the Centers for Disease Control “independently” announced that it had miraculously discovered authority to reimpose a nationwide eviction moratorium.

Affordable housing owners and managers are working hard to help their tenants tap unused Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds to stay current on rental payments, and many of them have been doing this since the program rolled out.