Author: S. Gimenez

Why the 4% LIHTC Matters: Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara

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syc_before_after
Sycamore Gardens before (bottom) and after (top) renovation. Photo courtesy of HACSB.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is one of the most effective tools for creating new and critically needed affordable housing, and accounts for the vast majority of all affordable rental housing created in the United States. This is one in a series of articles that show how public housing authorities (PHAs) and community development agencies have successfully used federal tax credits and tax-exempt bonds to build and/or preserve public housing and affordable housing, and to increase the sustainability of their communities.

Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara: Sycamore Gardens

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s (HACSB’s) Sycamore Gardens is a former HUD-assisted public housing development that has been transitioned into the Section 8 Program via the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. Sycamore Gardens was developed in 1972. Although safety standards were maintained, the overall appearance of the building was dated and many components of the complex were approaching the end of their useful life.  Because of prior lack of funds, Sycamore Gardens was in serious need of rehabilitation.

“By combining the RAD conversion program with the 4% LIHTC and Private Activity Bonds, we were able to fully rehabilitate the property and extend the useful life of this affordable housing resource to our lowest-income community members for another 50 years.” HACSB Executive Director/CEO Rob Fredericks explained. “ This would not have been possible if we had not had the ability to access equity through the combination of 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Private Activity Bonds. If we care about affordable housing, then we must preserve these tools!”

The rehabilitation of Sycamore Gardens included the following:

  • New parking and driveways
  • New exterior walls
  • All existing windows and doors replaced with dual-pane, energy–efficient windows and rear sliding door and entry doors
  • Replacement of all roofs
  • New tankless water heaters
  • All new kitchen cabinets, countertops, sinks and appliances
  • All new bath vanities/sinks
  • New flooring
  • New interior paint
  • Two apartments converted to fully handicap accessible units
  • Two handicap parking spaces with fully accessible and compliant ramps
  • Photovoltaic panels installed to offset tenant electric loads
  • Site improvements designed to meet the standards for Tier 3 Best Management Practices of stormwater treatment.

For more information about this project or to share your 4% LIHTC success stories, please contact us at nahro@nahro.org.

Why the 4% LIHTC Matters: New York City Housing Authority

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nycha
Photo courtesy of NYCHA

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is one of the most effective tools for creating new and critically needed affordable housing, and accounts for the vast majority of all affordable rental housing created in the United States. This is one in a series of articles that show how public housing authorities (PHAs) and community development agencies have successfully used federal tax credits and tax-exempt bonds to build and/or preserve public housing and affordable housing, and to increase the sustainability of their communities.

New York City Housing Authority: Ocean Bay (Bayside) Apartments

In June 2017, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  announced $560 million in federal, state, city, and private investment in NYCHA’s Ocean Bay (Bayside) Apartments, including $213 million in tax-exempt bonds, to finance essential infrastructure upgrades, support state-of-the-art resiliency and security systems, and the renovation and preservation of the public housing complex that is home to nearly 4,000 residents in Far Rockaway, Queens.

The 24-building, 1,395-unit Ocean Bay (Bayside) Apartments complex in Far Rockaway, Queens, provides vital affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers. Completed and first occupied in the early 1960s, the aging development was already facing critical maintenance needs and a deteriorating infrastructure before suffering extensive damage from Superstorm Sandy, including flooding and the destruction of the central heating plant. Some of the more notable renovations needed include roof replacements, complete upgrade of elevator machinery and equipment, new boilers and heating systems.

The three-year, $327 million restoration will involve a major infrastructure overhaul, with upgrades improving the overall community. All apartments will undergo extensive kitchen and bathroom renovations. To prepare for future extreme weather events, the restoration will also include resiliency measures such as the third-largest solar panel installation at an affordable housing development in New York State, a secure flood wall, water retention swales, stand-alone electric service buildings built above the flood zone, and the conversion from one central boiler steam system to 24 individual hydronic boilers on the roof of each building. The project also aims to provide residents with a safer, more secure community with new and updated security cameras, improved interior and exterior lighting, and a new key fob entry system.

This is NYCHA’s first conversion under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), which allows housing authorities to access private capital to meet capital needs while also protecting long-term affordability. “This is government at its best and we are proud to be a part of driving investment in public housing across the state,” said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. “Here in New York City, the State worked with NYCHA – providing $213 million in tax-exempt bonds – to make their first RAD financing of nearly 1,400 units at the Ocean Bay complex possible. The result: Federal, local and state agencies working together to catalyze a public-private financing structure that supports vital capital improvements and respects tenants’ rights and needs.”

For more information about this project or to share your organization’s 4 percent LIHTC success story, please contact nahro@nahro.org.

Why the 4% LIHTC Matters: Walla Walla Housing Authority

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emerald_before_after

Before (bottom) and after (top) pictures of Emerald Family Properties buildings. Photo credits: Walla Walla Housing Authority

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is one of the most effective tools for creating new and critically needed affordable housing, and accounts for the vast majority of all affordable rental housing created in the United States. This is one in a series of articles that show how public housing authorities (PHAs) and community development agencies have successfully used federal tax credits and tax-exempt bonds to build and/or preserve public housing and affordable housing, and to increase the sustainability of their communities.

Walla Walla Housing Authority: Emerald Family Properties

Walla Walla (Wash.) County has the largest affordable housing gap in the state of Washington, and so the pressure is high to keep existing public and affordable housing. Recently, the Walla Walla Housing Authority (WWHA) used a combination of 4 percent LIHTCs and tax-exempt bonds to revitalize and preserve the Emerald Family Properties, an 84-unit family development with two- to five-bedroom units in nine neighborhoods. The financing package allowed the housing authority to upgrade both the interiors and the exteriors of the units, and to increase energy efficiency in a way that would lower the utility costs for the residents. Emerald Family Properties has project-based vouchers attached to its units, and thus is able to serve very low-income families as well as those of moderate income.

“This project never would have pointed in the 9 percent LIHTC credit round, so the 4 percent LIHTC and tax-exempt bonds are essential financing tools that we use to address our community’s housing needs,” said WWHA Executive Director Renée Rooker. “Over the past five years, we have developed 245 units serving elderly individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and families by utilizing 4 percent LIHTCs and tax-exempt bonds. Besides Emerald Family Properties, we will have completed 80 more units in the next couple of weeks. None of this could have transpired without these financing tools.”

For more information about this project or to share your organization’s 4 percent LIHTC success story, please contact nahro@nahro.org.

Thank You, John Bohm

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bohm_summer

After 13 years at NAHRO, including 13 months spent as Acting CEO during the search for a permanent leader, John Bohm is leaving the association to move out of Washington, D.C. We at NAHRO thank him for his service, mentorship, and friendship, and wish him the best.

During his tenure, Bohm led the Congressional Relations Department, successfully educating and informing members of Congress and their staff about the importance of HUD appropriations, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other vital affordable housing and community development-related issues. He also helped build a responsible platform for NAHRO advocacy, co-authored the NAHRO Advocacy Training Guide, and conducted advocacy training sessions across the country.

“I’m very proud of everything that’s been accomplished here,” Bohm says, “but I’d like to emphasize that none of it would have happened without the ideas and hard work of many past and present NAHRO staff. I’ve been privileged to work with smart, creative, diligent people who are dedicated to our members and the good work they do, and while I will miss them all, I am happy that the association remains in their more than capable hands.”

Bohm also helped create the Housing America advocacy campaign, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. He instituted the campaign’s signature “What Home Means to Me” calendar contest and helped grow the campaign, which now includes both Housing America Month and the popular Voices of Housing conference panel. He also redesigned NAHRO’s annual Legislative Conference (now known as the Washington Conference), launched the popular yearly “Perspectives on the Federal Budget” panel, and created both the Mary K. Nenno Advocacy Award and the NAHRO Legislator of the Year Award.

As staff liaison for the Legislative Network, Bohm increased the focus and breadth of the group’s responsibilities. He also staffed NAHRO’s Small Agency Task Force and helped increase Congressional awareness of issues affecting small housing authorities.

Bohm trained and mentored many members of NAHRO staff. He also wrote a semi-regular “Notes from the Front” column for the NAHRO Monitor for many years.