Tax Credit Advisor Article Archives

Developers planned to tear down a historic Chicago affordable housing property to build a new, luxury residential tower.

What Maurice Barry does for a living is complex. It involves interpretation of often arcane laws and regulations, wending his way through dense and sometimes conflicting rules, working with owners and tenants to get them what they are legally entitled to, restructuring FHA loans and monitoring a broad spectrum of compliance issues.

On July 21st, during NH&RA’s Summer Institute on Martha’s Vineyard, John Leith-Tetrault was presented with the Chairman’s Award by NH&RA Chairman and partner at Bryan Cave, Jerry Breed. As founder of both the National Trust Community Investment Corporation and the Historic Tax Credit Coalition, John Leith-Tetrault has created a legacy in the Historic Tax Credit world.

When first I saw a gleaming new tower sprouting within, and above, the five-story brick crust that was all that remained of a decrepit century-old block whose guts had been scoured out and trundled away, I thought the surface preservation both incongruous and a waste of money. In the decades since then, I’ve changed my mind even as the world’s historic cities have changed around us.

It is no exaggeration to say that the progress of Fred Copeman’s career mirrors, tracks and helped foster the ascendancy of the housing and energy tax credit programs from their beginning following the 1986 Tax Reform Act – the legislation that overhauled the entire real estate tax shelter business.

Opened in 1934, the 17-story Art Deco United States Post Office and Custom House changed the St. Paul skyline. It may not be the tallest building in the city, but clad in granite and Minnesota Kasota limestone and broadly anchored near the Mississippi River, it represents the strength of the government it was built to serve. Its storied history includes a funding scandal with national repercussions and investigations into federal spending around the country, multiple vertical additions, and nearly 80 years of continuous use as a U.S. Post Office.

In a little more than a month, voters (or, at least, that minority of the eligible electorate that actually casts a ballot) will go to the polls and exercise their franchise.

A depression-era factory turned affordable housing and a rehabilitated bank transformed into community event space are among the 16 winners and finalists of the 2016 J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation—fondly referred to as “The Timmys.”

History is au courant. Not old history; new history. “Game of Thrones” wins the Emmy, “Spotlight” wins the Oscar and “Hamilton” wins the Tony. And what they all share is a fresh look at history through a contemporary prism. Kind of like an old building rehabbed for contemporary usage. Right?

In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that policies and practices that have an unintentionally discriminatory impact on minorities and other protected persons – referred to as “disparate impact” liability – could constitute violations of the Fair Housing Act (“FHAct”). Texas Dept. of Comm. Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., __ U.S. __, 135 S. Ct. 2507 (2015). Since that time, agencies and courts have wrestled with the consequences of that decision. In some instances, agencies have seen the decision as expanding the scope of possible liability for housing providers, while courts have so far applied it sparingly, to address the so-called “heartland” of disparate impact cases involving barriers to housing integration. One year in, the Inclusive Communities decision has thus far resulted in more concerns and less certainty.

WaterFire is a non-profit arts organization whose activities include simultaneously lighting nearly 100 bonfires suspended just above the rivers that run through downtown Providence—accompanied, according to founder and Executive Artistic Director Barnaby Evans, “by music and other art surprises” that bring “joy and energy” to the way people experience and explore the City.

The Community Reinvestment Act – CRA – was enacted in 1977 as a means of encouraging commercial banks and other consumer financial institutions to meet the needs of borrowers throughout the communities in which they operate. CRA has been credited with everything from ending the practice of discriminatory redlining to creating vibrant inner city neighborhoods, and blamed for everything from forcing banks to make unwise or over-leveraged loans to helping foment the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis.