Myopically focusing on restrictive suburban zoning distracts from an equally pressing problem – the lack of residential investment in Gateway Cities over the last 10 years thanks to inflexible zoning and uncertainty about availability of state incentives.
A grant given to fund an affordable housing project reduces the cost basis for developers and thereby reduces the amount that can be raised in private funds through the LIHTC program.
Subsidized housing funding comes with extremely strict deadlines for performance. If an project is delayed not only can costs increase, as prices for materials rise, but project funds can actually disappear.
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?
A $17.7 million financing package by Rockland Trust Co. will support development of a 40-unit affordable housing project in Cambridge’s Porter Square.
Freddie Mac announced its re-entry into the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) market. LIHTC, the leading federal program for encouraging the investment of equity in affordable rental housing, will support the creation and preservation of affordable rental housing for low- and very low-income households.
