Boston City Councilors Michelle Wu and Kenzie Bok put forward an interesting idea in recent days that Boston could generate up to $2 billion to invest in affordable housing. But it also serves as a reminder that the private sector is a necessary partner in fixing the housing crisis.
An $18 million, 49-unit affordable housing development in Roxbury has secured permanent financing from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Housing developers warn that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic could trigger penalty clauses that threaten the completion of projects and require state and federal intervention.
Among the looming questions about housing preservation that the Commonwealth’s affordable housing advocates and public officials are debating: Will affordable units funded through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program after 1990 be preserved when they hit their 30-year restrictions?
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program has been remarkably effective. Across the country, the lion’s share of below-market-rate housing has utilized these tax credits. Now, there is a broad-based effort in Congress to expand the credit significantly to make a good thing even better.
